Department of Health and Social Care

Liver Diseases: Screening

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2024 to Question 381 on Liver Diseases: Screening, where the 12 Community Diagnostic Centres planned to have fibroscans are located; and what further plans she has to roll out fibroscans by March 2025.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

NHS England: Complaints

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many complaints have been received by the NHS England South West Complaints Team in each of the last six months; how many emanated from the Dorset Integrated Care Board; and how many of those have been outstanding for more than two months.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the administration of the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme cost the NHS Business Services Authority in (a) 2021, (b) 2022 and (c) 2023.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

NHS England: Complaints

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the NHS England South West Complaints Team plans to provide a substantive response to the complaint made by the hon. member for Christchurch on behalf of a constituent under reference 2312-2050136; for what reason there has been no response to the complaint from the South West dental commissioning team; and what the contact details are for the person in charge of that team.

Andrea Leadsom: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Members: Correspondence

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when she plans to respond to the correspondence of 18 March 2024 from the hon. Members for Tooting, Putney, Wimbledon, Mitcham and Morden, Richmond Park and Twickenham on children's cancer services in the South East.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Rosalind Franklin Laboratory

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the cost was of the early exit from the lease for the Rosalind Franklin Laboratory.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Junior Doctors: Pay

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an estimate of the cost to the public purse of awarding a pay rise to NHS junior doctors of (a) 5%, (b) 10%, (c) 15%, (d) 20%, (e) 25%, (f) 30% and (g) 35%.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Laboratories: Disease Control

Matt Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 15 April 2024 to Questions 18426 and 18425 on Laboratories: Disease Control, if she will publish a breakdown of each expense category of (a) expenditure and (b) maintenance costs; for what reason Porton Down and Colindale scientific campus sites do not have separate operational costs for the Category 4 laboratories; what plans she has to ensure the long-term sustainability and effectiveness of Cat 4 laboratory sites; and what steps she is taking to protect the UK from (i) synthetically designed viruses and (ii) other new and emerging biothreats.

Maria Caulfield: The requested information on expenditure and maintenance costs is not held in the format requested, and obtaining it would incur disproportionate cost. Porton Down and Colindale do not have separate operational costs, as work for various programmes is undertaken across both sites, and costs are considered at a programme level.The sites have regular infrastructure and condition surveys, to ensure they are appropriately maintained. The required tactical investments are made to keep the sites viable and effective, pending future strategic investments. Sites are regularly inspected by regulators, including the Health and Safety Executive and the Home Office, which provides assurance that the sites are compliant.The UK Biological Security Strategy was published in June 2023, setting out the vision, mission, and priorities to protect the United Kingdom and its interests from significant biological risks, no matter how they occur and no matter who, or what, they affect. Further information on the strategy is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-biological-security-strategy

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Diagnosis

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce waiting times for an ADHD diagnosis on the NHS for children.

Maria Caulfield: It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including access to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessments, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines. NICE guidelines for ADHD diagnosis and management aim to improve the diagnosis of ADHD, and the quality of care and support people receive. The NICE guidelines do not recommend a maximum waiting time standard for ADHD diagnosis, either from referral for an assessment to receiving an assessment, a diagnosis, or a first contact appointment.We know that children and young people often seek an ADHD diagnosis through Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. Through the NHS Long Term plan, the Government is investing record amounts into children and young people’s mental health services.There is, at present, no single, established dataset that can be used to monitor waiting times for assessment or treatment for ADHD nationally. The Department is exploring options to improve data collection and reporting on ADHD assessment waiting times, to help improve access to ADHD assessments in a timely way, and in line with the NICE guideline. In support of this, the National Institute for Health and Care Research Policy Research Programme has commissioned a research project to provide insights into local ADHD diagnosis waiting time data collection.NHS England is establishing a new ADHD taskforce alongside the Government, to improve care for people living with the condition. The new taskforce will bring together expertise from across a broad range of sectors, including the National Health Service, education, and justice, to better understand the challenges affecting people with ADHD, and help provide a joined-up approach in response to concerns around rising demand for assessments and support.Alongside the work of the taskforce, NHS England has announced that it will continue to work with stakeholders to develop a national ADHD data improvement plan, carry out more detailed work to understand the provider and commissioning landscape, and capture examples from local health systems who are trialling innovative ways of delivering ADHD services to ensure best practice is captured and shared across the system.

Health Services: Disability

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what her planned timetable is for publishing the revised NHS Accessible Information Standard.

Maria Caulfield: NHS England remains committed to publishing the Accessible Information Standard (AIS) as soon as possible, with the intention of publishing it within the first quarter of 2024/25. The standard is within the publication process, and NHS England are working to both progress the documentation through the publication approval process, as well as ensuring that, when published, the AIS and supporting documentation are available in accessible formats.

Social Services: Young People

Rosie Duffield: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has issued recent guidance to integrated care boards on their role in assessing the mental and emotional health of young people entering care using a person qualified to assess mental health as part of the initial health assessment.

Maria Caulfield: The statutory guidance, Promoting the health and wellbeing of looked after children, published in 2015, reflects the requirement that the relevant local authority must make arrangements for the initial health assessment to be carried out by a registered medical professional who is suitably qualified to assess a young person's physical, emotional, and mental health needs.

Mental Health Services

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make it her policy to enable second opinions in mental health settings.

Maria Caulfield: The second opinion appointed doctor (SOAD) service safeguards the rights of patients subject to the Mental Health Act in specific circumstances. A SOAD is an independent doctor appointed by the Care Quality Commission, who gives a second opinion on whether certain types of medical treatment for a mental disorder should be given without the patient’s consent. SOADs are consulted in certain circumstances when a patient refuses treatment, or is too ill or otherwise incapable of giving consent. Outside of these specific circumstances, if an individual disagrees with their doctor about a mental health diagnosis or treatment, they can ask for a second opinion, although there is no legal right to one.Good Medical Practice, from the General Medical Council (GMC), sets out the standards of care and behaviour expected of all medical doctors practising in the United Kingdom. It states that doctors must recognise a patient’s right to choose whether to accept their advice, and respect a patient’s right to seek a second opinion. The GMC is an independent regulator, and is responsible for operational maters including any assessment of its policies and guidance. Managing second opinion requests is the responsibility of local National Health Service organisations.

Bereavement Counselling: Equality

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the geographical coverage of bereavement services; and whether she has identified (a) geographical, (b) socio-economic and (c) protected characteristic inequalities in the coverage of such services.

Maria Caulfield: No assessment has been made of the adequacy of geographical coverage of bereavement services, nor of the geographical, socioeconomic or protected characteristic inequalities in the coverage of such services. The Government wants people to be able to access the bereavement support they need, when they need it. We strongly encourage anyone struggling with bereavement, no matter how long after loss, to contact their general practitioner who can help provide support, signpost to specialist bereavement support charities, or make a referral to a counsellor.

NHS: Expenditure

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an estimate of average weekly expenditure on the NHS in real terms in each year since 2016.

Andrew Stephenson: The below table shows the average weekly and yearly expenditure on the National Health Service in real terms and nominally, each year since 2016, including spending against the Revenue Departmental Expenditure Limit (RDEL) by NHS England, the integrated care boards, and providers:YearRDEL spend per year in nominal termsRDEL spend per year in real termsRDEL spend per week in real terms2016/17£105,735,000,000£125,293,000,000£2,409,000,0002017/18£109,605,000,000£127,879,000,000£2,459,000,0002018/19£114,331,000,000£130,634,000,000£2,512,000,0002019/20£123,750,000,000£138,145,000,000£2,657,000,0002020/21£143,367,000,000£151,775,000,000£2,919,000,0002021/22£149,322,000,000£159,379,000,000£3,065,000,0002022/23£158,347,000,000£158,347,000,000£3,045,000,000Source: table 66 of the Department of Health and Social Care’s annual report.Note: figures have been adjusted for inflation using HM Treasury’s gross domestic product deflators, as of April 2024.

General Practitioners: Personal Records

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what evidence of (a) identity and (b) immigration status GPs require from patients seeking to access their services; and whether her Department provides guidance to GPs on ensuring that identification provided by those people is genuine.

Andrea Leadsom: Patients have the legal right to choose a general practice (GP) that best suits their needs. An individual should not be refused registration or appointments because they do not have proof of address or personal identification. Patients do not need to provide proof of address or immigration status, identification, or a National Health Service number to register with a GP. The vast majority of migrants are required to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge when applying for a visa to stay in the United Kingdom for longer than six months.

Health Services: Standards

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she plans to publish the results of the review by McKinsey and Co into NHS productivity.

Andrew Stephenson: The 2024 Spring Budget committed £3.4 billion of capital funding to support NHS England in driving technologically and digitally enabled productivity improvement. To prepare for this work, NHS England commissioned McKinsey and Company as part of an internal exercise. The Department will provide a public update on progress and plans for delivering the Spring Budget’s announcements.

Ambulance Services: Databases

Sir David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS England has issued a data privacy notice for ambulance services data to be part of the NHS Federated Data Platform product.

Andrew Stephenson: NHS England has published an Ambulance Data Service dashboard, Federated Data Platform product privacy notice, which is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/contact-us/privacy-notice/how-we-use-your-information/nhs-federated-data-platform-privacy-notice/fdp-products-and-product-privacy-notices/ambulance-data-services-ads-dashboard-fdp-product-privacy-notice/

NHS Trusts: Cybercrime

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many times NHS trusts have been victims of ransomware attacks in the last 12 months; and whether (a) data has been (i) lost and (ii) made public and (b) a ransom has been paid in each case.

Andrew Stephenson: A small number of cyber-attacks against National Health Service hospitals have been made public, but the specific details on the number, nature, and subsectors of NHS organisations that have been victims of a ransomware attack in the last twelve months cannot be released, as it may prejudice the prevention or detection of cyber-attacks against the NHS.Our around-the-clock cyber monitoring across over 1.5 million NHS computers allows us to identify that ransomware is the most significant cyber security threat currently facing the health and social care sector. Automated cyber defences and monitoring by NHS England’s Cyber Operations teams continuously deter, prevent, and disrupt attempts to break into the NHS’ IT systems. The NHS implements the Government’s policy of not condoning ransom payment.

Electronic Cigarettes

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she is taking steps to (a) commission and (b) access scientific studies on the (i) physical and (ii) psychological impact of vaping (A) non nicotine and (B) nicotine products.

Andrea Leadsom: The health advice is clear, if you don’t smoke, don’t vape, and children should never vape. Vaping can play a role in helping adult smokers to quit, but the Government is concerned about the worrying rise in vaping among children, with youth vaping tripling in the last three years and one in five children having now used a vape.Using the best available evidence is central to the development of regulations and requirements regarding vapes. This includes evidence on the health harms from vaping, both nicotine and non-nicotine vapes, in the short, medium, and long term. We monitor and assess the emerging international research, as can be seen in Public Health England’s Nicotine Vaping in England reports, and work closely with the academic and scientific community to interrogate the data on the physical and psychological effects of vaping and smoking.We are also keen to ensure that we play an active role in driving forward the knowledge around longer-term health harms. As part of this, we are actively exploring options to partner with research bodies and commission research. We will provide more detail in due course.

Electronic Cigarettes and Smoking

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of harm reduction approaches for people using tobacco and vaping products to end their dependencies.

Andrea Leadsom: Smoking is responsible for approximately 80,000 deaths a year in the United Kingdom, and causes around one in four cancer deaths in the UK. It also costs our country £17 billion a year, and puts a huge burden on the National Health Service. Smoking is an addiction and there is no liberty in addiction. It causes harm to not only to the smoker but to the whole of society. That is why we have introduced the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, to create the first smokefree generation and enable us to further crack down on youth vaping. In addition, we are investing an additional £70 million per year, over five years, to support local authority commissioned stop smoking services. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill is available at the following link:https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3703.Quitting smoking completely, immediately, and permanently is the best thing a smoker can do for their health, and smokers are three times as likely to succeed with stop smoking services (SSS) when compared to an unsupported quit attempt. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published recommendations on supporting people who do not want, or are not ready, to stop smoking in one go, to reduce the harm from smoking. The NICE’s guidance advises that the health benefits from reducing smoking are unclear, but if smokers reduce their smoking now, they are more likely to stop smoking in the future.

Pharmacy: Coventry North West

Taiwo Owatemi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an estimate of the number of pharmacies that have closed in Coventry North West constituency since 2019; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of pharmacy closures on primary care standards.

Taiwo Owatemi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of increasing funding for community pharmacies on funding for secondary care.

Andrea Leadsom: On 31 December 2023, there were 22 pharmacies in Coventry North West constituency, including one distance selling pharmacy. Between 31 December 2019 and 31 December 2023, two pharmacies closed in Coventry North West and no new pharmacies opened. However, access to pharmaceutical services remains good, with 97% of the population of Coventry North West living within a 20-minute walk from a pharmacy. This exceeds the national average of 80%. Residents of Coventry North West can also access services from distance selling pharmacies that operate nationally.It is the role of local authorities in England to undertake pharmaceutical needs assessments for their areas, every three years, to ensure provision continues to meet their population’s needs. Integrated care boards (ICBs) have regard to those assessments when commissioning services and where a pharmacy closure impacts on the access to services, a new contractor can apply to open a pharmacy in the area.Services within the National Health Service delivered in community pharmacy can have a positive impact on secondary care. For example, the Discharge Medicines Service and the New Medicine Service provide patients with extra support for medicines preventing (re)hospitalisation. Urgent and emergency care settings can also refer patients to community pharmacies for a minor illness consultation or an urgent medicine supply, taking the pressure off secondary care. Increasing the impact of these services, which are already commissioned in community pharmacies, will require continued embedding of referral in secondary care pathways.

General Practitioners: Finance

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of reviewing general practice funding streams to account for potential additional resource requirements in socio-economically deprived communities.

Andrea Leadsom: The Department is committed to ensuring patients living in deprived areas have access to good health care. The Carr-Hill formula, which is used to calculate core funding for practices, reflects differences in the age and sex composition of the practice’s registered patient list, together with a range of factors that take into account the additional pressures generated by differential rates of patient turnover, morbidity, mortality, and the impact of geographical location. Under this formula, practices whose registered patients have greater healthcare needs are paid more per patient than practices whose registered patients have fewer healthcare needs.

Health Services: Standards

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help improve patient access to primary care services.

Andrea Leadsom: Our Delivery plan for recovering access to primary care has two central ambitions to improve access to general practice (GP): tackling the 8:00am rush and reducing the number of people struggling to contact their practice; and for patients to know on the day they contact their practice, how their request will be managed.We are doing this by modernising telephone systems, backed by £240 million in retargeted funding, and by building the capacity to deliver more appointments. As a result, we have now delivered on our manifesto commitment for 50 million more GP appointments per year, with 370.7 million booked across the last 12 months.There is an increasing number of clinical services that are being delivered in community pharmacy, including the New Medicines Service, Contraception Service, Blood Pressure Check Service, Stop Smoking Service, and most recently the new Pharmacy First service. These services help take the pressure off GPs, and make it quicker and easier for patients to access care.Furthermore, our plan to recover and reform NHS dentistry will fund approximately 2.5 million additional appointments. The plan sets out our actions to address the challenges facing National Health Service dentistry, and to improve dental access for patients across the country. A new patient premium is supporting dentists to take on new patients, and a new marketing campaign will help everyone who needs an NHS dentist in finding one. We have further supported dentists by raising the minimum Units of Dental Activity rate to £28 this year, making NHS work more attractive and sustainable.

Food: Sugar

Tahir Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department plans to limit advertisements promoting food products that are high in sugar.

Andrea Leadsom: On 1 October 2025, the Government will introduce a United Kingdom-wide 9:00pm television watershed for the advertising of less healthy products, and a restriction of paid-for advertising of these products online. The Government and regulators are working through the necessary steps to implement and enforce these regulations. These steps include consulting, finalising guidance, and laying regulations.

Health Services: Pay

Christian Wakeford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure parity between (a) clinical and (b) recently insourced nonclinical staff in the one-off covid bonus payment.

Andrew Stephenson: The non-consolidated payments, agreed as part of the Agenda for Change pay deal, covered staff directly employed by National Health Service organisations, for instance staff on permanent and fixed term contracts, as set out in Annex 1 of the handbook on Agenda for Change terms as of 31 March 2023. Those who joined the NHS after 31 March 2023 were ineligible for the award, regardless of their profession.

Dentistry: Higher Education

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to increase the number of NHS patients who dental students can treat as part of their degree.

Andrea Leadsom: The number of National Health Service patients being treated by dental students will depend in large part on the capacity of each dental school or its placement providers. Undergraduate dental students currently treat NHS patients as part of their training under the correct supervision, and in alignment with the curriculum. Patients do not pay NHS charges for this treatment.

Pharmacy: Drugs

Taiwo Owatemi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what medications have been reimbursed to community pharmacies below the market price for pharmacy procurement in (a) 2021, (b) 2022, (c) 2023 and (d) 2024.

Andrew Stephenson: The information requested is not held centrally. Community pharmacy reimbursement arrangements, set out in the Drug Tariff, are not designed to pay every individual pharmacy the cost, or more than the cost, of the medicine. This means that at an individual level, there will be instances where a pharmacy pays more than they are reimbursed, and other instances where they are paid less than they are reimbursed.The medicine margin survey assesses the amount of medicine margin, the difference between the reimbursement price and the price the pharmacy was charged by the supplier, retained by community pharmacies. The survey has found that overall, more than the amount agreed as part of the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework, has been delivered in total across the previous four financial years.In addition to this, where a number of pharmacies cannot purchase at or below the Drug Tariff reimbursement price, the Department considers concessionary price requests that come directly from the Community Pharmacy England, on behalf of community pharmacies. From 1 April 2024, we introduced a new retrospective top-up payment for concessionary prices, providing an additional payment to contractors when the margin survey indicates that despite a concessionary price, there was an under payment.

Medicine: Higher Education

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress she has made on increasing the number of medical student places; and whether she expects to meet the commitment to double the number of medical school places by 2031.

Andrew Stephenson: We are on track to meeting the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan’s aim to double the number of medical school places in England, from 7,500 to 15,000 places a year by 2031/32. We have accelerated this expansion by allocating 205 additional medical school places for the 2024/25 academic year, and have provisionally allocated a further 350 additional places for the 2025/26 academic year. Final allocations will be published shortly. This will build on the expansion of medical school places in England to 7,500 per year, a 25% increase, that the Government completed in 2020, and which delivered five new medical schools.

Dentistry: Higher Education

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the level of support available to dental students who have transitioned from a (a) student loan to (b) NHS bursary.

Andrea Leadsom: The NHS Bursary funding arrangements are reviewed annually, ahead of the start of each academic year. For the 2023/24 academic year, the Government uplifted travel and dual accommodation expense rates for the NHS Bursary by 50%, with the exception of travel by public transport which continues to be reimbursed at cost. We also uplifted disabled students’ allowance, childcare rates, and the means-testing threshold, increasing the amount of funding available to support dental students.

HIV Infection: Health Services

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she made of the adequacy of the HIV Action Plan deadline of 2030.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government is committed to ending new HIV transmissions, AIDS, and HIV-related deaths within England by 2030, and our HIV Action Plan from 2021 sets out how we will achieve our interim ambitions by 2025. The HIV Action Plan Implementation Steering Group, chaired by the Government's chief adviser for HIV, is supporting and driving forward the implementation of the HIV Action Plan, to ensure progress is in line with the plan's ambitions. The UK Health Security Agency publishes an annual monitoring and evaluation report of the HIV Action Plan, which tracks progress towards achieving our long-term commitment to end new HIV transmissions, AIDS, and HIV-related deaths within England by 2030. The 2023 report demonstrates progress made to date, with under 4,500 people living with undiagnosed HIV, and extremely high levels of antiretroviral therapy coverage and viral suppression. The report also highlights areas which needs further work, such as strengthening HIV prevention and testing, retainment in care, and tackling HIV related stigma. The report is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hiv-monitoring-and-evaluation-framework.

Insomnia: Exercise

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she is taking steps to increase public awareness of the potential merits of regular exercise in reducing the effects of insomnia.

Andrea Leadsom: Being active can help prevent and manage chronic conditions and diseases, including coronary heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, obesity, cancer, depression, and musculoskeletal conditions. It is also important for a range of other things, including energy balance, to maintain a healthy body weight, cognitive functioning, and sleep.Our current focus is supporting people who are the most inactive to become more active, as this is where the greatest health gains can be achieved. This includes promoting easy and fun ways to get active through the Better Health social marketing campaign, including Couch to 5k, and Active 10 apps.

Heart Diseases: Women

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to increase public awareness of links between heart disease in women and alcohol consumption.

Andrea Leadsom: The NHS Health Check is England’s cardiovascular disease prevention programme. It aims to prevent heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and kidney disease, and some cases of dementia among adults aged 40 to 74 years old. Each year the programme engages over one million people, including women, and prevents approximately 400 heart attacks or strokes. The provision of an alcohol risk assessment, and brief advice about alcohol harm, is a requirement in the NHS Health Check. The guidance to practitioners sets out that people identified as drinking at higher-risk levels should be referred for a liver check, as recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. In addition, the United Kingdom’s Chief Medical Officer’s Low risk drinking guidelines and National Health Service guidance highlight that alcohol use is a risk factor for heart disease.

Community Rehabilitation Alliance

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many times she has met with the Community Rehabilitation Alliance since her appointment.

Helen Whately: My Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care meets regularly with external stakeholders, and ministerial meetings are published on the GOV.UK website on a quarterly basis.

Ambulance Services: Northern Ireland

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will hold discussions with the Department of Health in Northern Ireland on ambulance response times in that region.

Helen Whately: Departmental officials have regular discussions with Northern Ireland and other Devolved Governments on a range of issues, including urgent and emergency care services. There are, however, no specific discussions currently planned on ambulance response times in Northen Ireland.

Health Services: Rehabilitation

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of ensuring that rehabilitation is given an equal status in healthcare as to medicine and surgery.

Helen Whately: Ensuring that patients have access to effective rehabilitation is a priority for the Government. NHS England published its intermediate care framework for rehabilitation, reablement and recovery following hospital discharge, to help ensure high quality step-down care, in September 2023. Implementation of the framework aims to improve patient experience and outcomes. It should also improve patient flow, and free up National Health Service hospital capacity for those who need it most.A new community rehabilitation and reablement model was published alongside the framework. It focuses on how systems should use the workforce effectively, put patients and families at the centre of discussions, and ensure any transition points will be as seamless as possible. Integrated care systems, commissioners, and providers should work together with social care partners to implement the recommended actions.

Intensive Care: Rehabilitation

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that intensive care units have a full complement of rehabilitation staff.

Helen Whately: Local trusts are responsible for planning their service capacity to meet expected demand.The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (LTWP) sets out the steps the National Health Service and its partners need to take to deliver an NHS workforce that meets the changing needs of the population over the next 15 years. Backed by over £2.4 billion, the LTWP will significantly expand education and training places, including of allied health professionals.

Health Services: Rehabilitation

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help increase the number of people working in community rehabilitation services.

Helen Whately: NHS England published the Intermediate Care Framework and Rehabilitation and reablement model in September 2023. The Framework sets out actions systems can take to increase intermediate care rehabilitation and reablement capacity, including through optimising the use of the registered therapy workforce and maximising the use of skilled support workers. The framework is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/intermediate-care-framework-for-rehabilitation-reablement-and-recovery-following-hospital-discharge/The Intermediate Care Frontrunner sites, and pilot work with seven local geographies has worked to define the workforce required to meet the demand for bedded and non-bedded intermediate care rehabilitation and reablement. NHS England is planning further work in 2024/2025 to progress the implementation and learning from the workforce pilots and to support systems nationally to progress workforce planning processes and estimate the workforce required to meet the demand.Better Care Fund capacity and demand plans will inform alignment and reporting of progress to increase workforce capacity across health and care including rehabilitation and reablement workforce capacity.The NHS Long term workforce plan commits to supporting Integrated Care Systems to develop local strategies that would support local quality apprenticeship programmes targeted at specific occupational shortages and skills gaps and transformation across a number of settings including community care. The NHS long term workforce plan is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/nhs-long-term-workforce-plan/

Psychiatric Patients: Discharges

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to ensure that people with significant mental health issues are not discharged to the community.

Helen Whately: Clinicians will decide when a person is medically fit for discharge. On 26 January 2024, new statutory guidance was published for those being discharged from mental health inpatient settings. This sets out how health and care systems can work effectively together to support the discharge process from hospital, and ensure the right support in the community. The guidance also includes best practice in relation to patient and carer involvement in discharge planning.NHS England has asked all systems to review their community mental health services, to ensure that they have clear policies and practice in place for patients with serious mental illness, who require intensive community treatment and follow-up, but where engagement is a challenge. NHS England will provide national guidance to support reviews, which will be completed by Autumn 2024. NHS England will consider further steps as appropriate, following the completion of the reviews.

Paediatrics: Intensive Care

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that children and young people who are discharged from paediatric intensive therapy units to (a) a ward and (b) the community receive rehabilitation services.

Helen Whately: It is a priority for the Department to ensure that discharged patients, including children and young people, are provided with the right care, at the right place, and at the right time. Rehabilitation is critical to ensuring that patients discharged on intermediate care pathways from acute settings receive appropriate support to recover. National Health Service integrated care boards are responsible for ensuring there is sufficient capacity to meet demand for rehabilitation services, including for children and young people.

Queen Mary's Hospital Roehampton

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to ensure the space needed for the Urgent Treatment Centre at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Roehampton be returned to a drop in as well as bookable centre.

Helen Whately: It is the responsibility of local National Health Service commissioners and providers to engage with their stakeholders and make decisions on the provision of services locally to best meet the needs of their patients and population.

Social Services: Digital Technology

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled People at the Heart of Care: adult social care reform white paper, published on 1 December 2021, whether the target for 80% of CQC registered social care providers to have a digital social care record in place by March 2024 was met.

Helen Whately: We have increased the adoption of digital social care records (DSCRs) by Care Quality Commission (CQC) registered providers from 40% in December 2021, to at least 63% in February 2024. In January 2024, the Department updated this target to ensure that 80% of CQC registered providers and 80% of people who receive care will have a DSCR in place by March 2025. By extending timeframes, we can ensure that care providers who are yet to digitise have the time and support needed to successfully adopt DSCRs, and to reduce the risk of regional disparities in DSCR uptake. We’ve allocated a further £25 million this financial year, to ensure as many people as possible can benefit from a DSCR.

Health: Children

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the impact of childhood poverty on longitudinal health outcomes.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how she is targeting health prevention services to support children who live in poverty.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to tackle health inequality due to childhood poverty.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of her policies on health outcomes for children who live in poverty.

Andrea Leadsom: The Department delivers programmes to support the most vulnerable children and families, and reduce health inequalities. The Government published the Best Start for Life: A Vision for the 1,001 Critical Days, in March 2021. This sets out six action areas for improving support for families during the 1,001 critical days, to ensure every baby in England is given the best possible start in life, regardless of background.The Government is investing an additional £300 million to improve support for families though the joint Department of Health and Social Care and Department for Education Family Hubs and Start for Life programme. It is implementing many elements of the Best Start for Life Vision, delivering a step change in outcomes for babies, children, and their parents and carers in 75 local authorities in England, including those with high levels of deprivation. The Government has commissioned two in-depth independent evaluations of the programme.The Healthy Start scheme helps to encourage a healthy diet for pregnant women, babies, and young children aged under four years old from very low-income households. The latest Healthy Start data was published on 28 March 2024, with an uptake of 66%. Healthy Start now supports approximately 366,000 beneficiaries.In November 2022, NHS England published Core20PLUS5, an approach to reducing health inequalities for children and young people at both a national and system level. The approach defines a target population cohort, and identifies five clinical areas requiring accelerated improvement, which are asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, oral health, and mental health. Where possible, indicators in the Child and Maternal Health Profile provide a breakdown by the index of multiple deprivation, which is available at the following link:https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/child-health-profiles

Brain: Tumours

Alistair Strathern: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the availability of treatment for glioma on the NHS.

Alistair Strathern: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS England plans to provide dendric cell therapy for glioma.

Andrew Stephenson: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) evaluates all new licensed medicines, including medicines for glioma, to determine whether they represent a clinically and cost-effective use of resources. The NICE aims to publish guidance on new medicines as close as possible to licensing. Any medicine for glioma, recommended in draft NICE guidance, will be eligible for funding through the Cancer Drugs Fund from the point a positive draft guidance is published, in line with the standard arrangements for cancer medicines.On 24 April 2024, the NICE published draft guidance recommending a new treatment for glioma in children and young people that will be available to eligible patients once supply of the treatment is available.There are currently no licensed dendritic cell therapies for glioma. A number of dendritic cell therapies are in development for the treatment of glioma, and any new licensed and NICE recommended treatments would be funded by NHS England, in line with NICE’s recommendations.

Diabetes: Prescription Drugs

Tahir Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help tackle the shortage of prescription medications for the treatment of diabetes.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department has worked intensively with industry to seek commitments from them to address issues with the supply of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs), used as a treatment for type 2 diabetes. As a result, deliveries have been expedited and supplies boosted, and the overall supply position in the United Kingdom has improved. Guidance for healthcare professionals, which was updated in March 2024 and supersedes the National Patient Safety Alert, now allows for the initiation of new patients onto Rybelsus tablets, an oral semaglutide, or Mounjaro KwikPen (tirzepatide), and provides advice on what to prescribe patients who are unable to obtain their existing GLP-1 RA treatment whilst there continue to be disruptions to the supply of some products.We are aware of supply issues with some insulin products for the treatment of type 1 diabetes. However, the vast majority are in stock. Comprehensive management guidance on alternative products has been issued to the National Health Service where needed.

Parkinson's Disease: Diagnosis

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance is provided to clinicians on advising patients recently diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease; and whether that guidance recommends that patients be given a leaflet from Parkinson's UK.

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether advice given to a newly diagnosed Parkinson's Disease patient contains (a) contact details for a local Parkinson's nurse, (b) a date for a first appointment and (c) information on local support groups.

Andrew Stephenson: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidelines on Parkinson’s disease in adults include recommendations for communication with people with Parkinson's disease, and their carers. The guidelines do not specify a particular leaflet, such as the one from Parkinson’s UK, but they do recommend that: communication with people with Parkinson's disease should aim towards empowering them to participate in judgements and choices about their own care; discussions should aim to achieve a balance between providing honest, realistic information about the condition, and promoting a feeling of optimism; because people with Parkinson's disease may develop impaired cognitive ability, and communication problems, they should be provided with both oral and written communication throughout the course of the disease, which should be individually tailored and reinforced as necessary, in a consistent manner; family members and carers should be advised about their right to a carer assessment, assessment for respite care, and other support; people with Parkinson's disease should have a comprehensive care plan agreed between the person, their family members and carers as appropriate, and specialist and secondary healthcare providers; and people with Parkinson's disease should have an accessible point of contact with specialist services, such as a Parkinson's disease nurse specialist.The exact information that is provided to a newly diagnosed Parkinson’s patient will vary, but would usually include referral to a Parkinson’s nurse. Information about local support groups would usually be provided by the Parkinson’s nurse. The Department will explore whether anything further can be done to improve the provision of post-diagnosis patient information for those with Parkinson’s disease.

Parkinson's Disease: Diagnosis

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will publish the waiting times from the point of a GP referral for a diagnosis of a patient with suspected Parkinson's Disease to the date of an appointment with a neurologist or geriatrician, by Integrated Care Board for the latest period for which that data is available.

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people with Parkinson's Disease are on waiting lists for a referral for diagnosis to a neurologist or geriatrician in each Integrated Care Board area as of 23 April 2024.

Andrew Stephenson: Information is not held centrally on the waiting times from the point of general practice (GP) referral for a diagnosis of suspected Parkinson’s disease, to the date of appointment with a neurologist or geriatrician, by integrated care board.Similarly, information is not held centrally on how many people with Parkinson’s disease are on waiting lists for a referral for diagnosis from a neurologist or geriatrician in each integrated care board area.GP referrals are not classified by suspected diagnosis, so data is not available in the form requested. Not all patients referred to a neurologist or geriatrician with suspected Parkinson’s disease will go on to receive a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, while some receive other diagnoses.

NHS: Software

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which of the 37 established NHS clinical registries have been incorporated onto a central software platform.

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress the Medical Devices Outcome Registry Programme has made on centralising NHS England clinical registries.

Andrew Stephenson: The Medical Device Outcome Registry, National Joint Registry, and National Vascular Registry have been incorporated into a central software platform. Registries for ongoing migration are the legacy NHS Digital Breast and Cosmetic Implant Registry, and the Pelvic Organ Prolapse and Stress Urinary Incontinence Registries. The National Registry of Hearing Implants (Cochlear) and National Major Trauma Registry are new registries in development. As of 26 March 2024, 69 providers have been onboarded to the Medical Device Outcome Registry.

Medicine: Training

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 28 March to Question 19968 on Medicine: Training, if her Department will review the changes to the allocation process administered by the UK Foundation Programme with regard to the distances that medical students are requested to move for their placements.

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the compatibility of the UK Foundation Programme timelines for allocating placements with the commitment that newly qualified staff will be given six weeks to relocate.

Andrew Stephenson: The allocation process for the UK Foundation Programme this year was changed to a Preference Informed Allocation method. This new process saw applicants being given a computer-generated rank, and the removal of the requirement to sit the Situational Judgement Test. When confirming the move to the new system last year, Health Education England, now part of NHS England, set out that once implemented it would be kept under constant review to make sure it is working well for applicants.All 9,702 eligible applicants for the 2024 foundation programme were allocated to a foundation school, with 75% of those applicants getting their first preference. This is an improvement on last year, when 8,655 applicants were placed, and 71% got their first preference. Because of this, new posts must be created, with appropriate experience for foundation doctors, and the correct level of supervision is required. Foundation schools and their local trusts are working hard to ensure that high quality training posts are available for all applicants. The foundation programme aims to give students as much notice as possible on their allocation to a foundation school, which is why allocations occur in early March.

HIV Infection: Health Services

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to fund HIV treatment.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to ensure constituencies with a high prevalence of HIV are provided with adequate (a) healthcare provision, (b) prevention services and (c) support services.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of health care provision for those diagnosed with HIV in (a) Slough and (b) the South East.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that areas with a high prevalence of HIV receive support for delivering pre-existing HIV services.

Andrea Leadsom: The HIV Action Plan is the cornerstone of our approach to driving progress and achieving our goal of ending new HIV transmissions, AIDS, and HIV-related deaths within England by 2030. Rapid access to, and retention in, HIV treatment and care can support those diagnosed with HIV in living healthy lives and maintaining an undetectable viral load, meaning they cannot transmit HIV to their sexual partners. As demonstrated by our success in meeting the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS’s 95-95-95 targets, England does very well on viral suppression and retention in care, with 98% of those diagnosed being on treatment, and 98% of those on treatment having an undetectable viral load. HIV treatment and care remain world class in England, and most beneficial outcomes remain high across all population groups. HIV treatment is available free of charge from open access HIV clinics in the National Health Service, and funded by the Department though our budget allocation to NHS England. The HIV Action Plan identifies that regional directors of public health will provide system leadership on HIV at a regional level, and local governance arrangements take various forms. It is for regional and local systems to oversee relevant care provision. The Department has not assessed the adequacy of health care provision for those diagnosed with HIV in local or regional areas, including Slough and the South East. Local authorities in England are responsible for commissioning open access sexual health services, including HIV prevention and testing services, through the public health grant, funded at £3.6 billion in 2024/25. It is for individual local authorities to decide their spending priorities based on an assessment of local need, and to commission the service lines that best suit their population. The UK Health Security Agency provides support to regions and local government, including helping areas to understand the local situation in depth and identify where to focus efforts.

HIV Infection: Screening

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to reduce the stigma of HIV testing.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when opt-out testing for HIV will be expanded to (a) Slough and (b) and other areas with a high prevalence of HIV.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to publicise opt-out testing for HIV to those attending emergency departments.

Andrea Leadsom: HIV testing is essential, as it allows those with HIV to be offered lifesaving treatment, and prevents its onward transmission. This is why we have committed to scaling up HIV testing in our HIV Action Plan. As part of the HIV Action Plan, NHS England made an initial £20 million available over three years to 2025, for HIV opt-out testing in 34 emergency departments (EDs) in areas with extremely high HIV prevalence, areas with five or more HIV cases per 1,000 residents aged 15 to 59 years old. The plan also included Blackpool in 2019, at 4.9 HIV cases per 1,000 residents aged 15 to 59 years old, and the whole of London, including some local areas with high HIV prevalence supported with additional funding from NHS London. In November 2024, the Government announced new research, commissioned through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, to evaluate an expansion of blood-borne virus opt-out testing, including HIV, in 47 additional EDs in local areas of England with high HIV prevalence. These would be areas with two to five HIV cases per 1,000 residents aged 15 to 59 years old, and would include the Wexham Park Hospital and Frimley Park Hospital in Slough. The research project is currently in the set-up phase, and funding will support 12 months of testing for each ED, although it is at the discretion of individual sites when the testing will commence. It is the responsibility of individual EDs to make service users aware of the availability of HIV and other blood-borne virus opt-out testing, as appropriate. HIV opt-out testing in EDs in areas with extremely high HIV prevalence has shown very encouraging outcomes so far, and at 21 months has delivered 2.6 million HIV tests, and found more than 1,000 people with undiagnosed or untreated HIV, including those who would not have been found via other testing routes. Making HIV testing routine in a front-line health care setting such as an ED, raises the awareness of HIV and helps remove the stigma associated with HIV testing. We are also working to improve workforce training in the National Health Service to increase HIV awareness, and in collaboration with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), to continue to monitor the levels of stigma and discrimination experienced by people living with HIV within the health and social care system, as well as within community settings. The UKHSA published the positive voices survey report in early 2024, which presents key indicators for HIV stigma, and is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hiv-positive-voices-survey/positive-voices-2022-survey-report Further work is underway to develop key indicators for monitoring quality of life and stigma for people living with HIV.

NHS: Labour Turnover

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an estimate of the number of NHS (a) doctors, (b) nurses and (c) staff that left the NHS for reasons other than reaching the age of retirement in 2023.

Andrew Stephenson: NHS England publishes Hospital and Community Health Services workforce statistics for England. This data is drawn from the Electronic Staff Record, and the Human Resources system for the National Health Service. Ad hoc supplementary information releases are made which include reasons for leaving, where they are known, for staff leaving the NHS by staff group. The latest data published for all staff groups is for April 2022 to March 2023, and is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/supplementary-information/2024/hchs-workforce-data-pack---nhs-pay-review-body-evidence---2023-data.This has been superseded for nurses and health visitors by the Nurse leavers by reason for leaving and gender, September 2022 to 2023, which is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/supplementary-information/2024/nurse-leavers-by-reason-for-leaving-september-2022-to-2023People leaving active service in NHS trusts will include those moving to primary care services, in particular doctors in training grades and non-NHS providers, or those going to work permanently or temporarily in healthcare services in other areas of the United Kingdom.

Ministry of Justice

Homicide: Reoffenders

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the reoffending rate was for people convicted of murder in each year since 2005.

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the reoffending rate was for people convicted of rape in each year since 2005.

Edward Argar: Between 2011/12 and 2021/22, the overall proven reoffending rate decreased from 31.3% to 25.2%. As shown in the attached table, the most recent data shows that reoffending rates for both murderers and rapists are at their lowest levels since 2005. In particular, the proportion of rapists who reoffend has fallen from 10.2% in 2005/06 to 5.3% in 2021/22. We are taking action to drive down the reoffending rate for all offenders by investing in a wide range of rehabilitative interventions to get them into skills training, work, and stable accommodation. Since 2021, we’ve rolled out Employment Hubs and Prison Employment Leads in all resettlement prisons and are delivering our temporary accommodation service for all prisoners at risk of homelessness. The full information requested can be found in the attached table.Table (xlsx, 19.1KB)

Rape: Convictions

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many convictions there were for rape in each year since 2005; and what the conviction rate was in the same period.

Laura Farris: This Government is committed to improving the criminal justice system’s response to rape. In 2019, we commissioned our end-to-end Rape Review, publishing this in 2021 alongside a clear Action Plan that committed to delivering sustained improvements for victims. In this Action Plan, we set ourselves stretching ambitions to return the volumes of adult rape cases being referred by the police, charged by the CPS, and going to court back to 2016 levels by the end of this Parliament. We have exceeded each of these ambitions ahead of schedule. In practice, this means we have more than doubled the volumes of police referrals, charges, and cases reaching court compared to when the Review was commissioned in 2019. Increases to conviction volumes or conviction rates were not included as ambitions for the Rape Review. The right to a fair trial means that juries should rightly make decisions independently and based on the facts of the case. Whilst not being a Rape Review ambition, the Ministry of Justice does hold data on convictions for rape offences. Published data for calendar years (from 2010 to 2022) can be found in the following tool: Outcomes by Offence tool: December 2022. The most recent published data available, providing data for the years ending in June from 2011 until 2023, can be found in the following tool: Outcomes by Offence tool: June 2023. The full calendar year for 2023 will be available in the next update of the Outcomes by Offence tool, expected in May 2024. This can be accessed by navigating to the ‘Prosecutions and convictions’ tab and using the Offence filter to select the following offences in the Outcomes by Offence data tool:19C Rape of a female aged 16 or over19D Rape of a female aged under 1619E Rape of a female child under 13 by a male19F Rape of a male aged 16 or over19G Rape of a male aged under 1619H Rape of a male child under 13 by a male To cover the full period requested, previously unpublished convictions for rape offences from 2005 to 2009 have now been provided in Table 1. It is not advised to use this data to calculate conviction rate (the number of convictions as a proportion of the number of prosecutions). This is due to the Court Proceedings Database counting two separate records at two separate stages (one for prosecution, one for conviction). We cannot track the defendant throughout their court journey and an individual may appear at each court in separate years, or for a different principal offence at different stages. As a result, this rate is not an accurate measure of the proportion of prosecutions that result in a conviction. However, the most accessible published data for conviction rates is in the quarterly data summaries for the period 2019/20 onwards published by the CPS in the CPS quarterly data summaries | The Crown Prosecution Service. Furthermore, convictions rates 2007/8 to 2013/14 are available in the CPS Violence against Women and Girls crime report 2013-2014.Table (xlsx, 19.0KB)

Homicide: Convictions

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many convictions there were for murder in each year since 2005; and what the conviction rate was in the same period.

Laura Farris: The Ministry of Justice holds data on convictions for murder offences. The published data, from 2010 to 2022, can be found in the following tool: Outcomes by Offence tool: December 2022. The most recent published data available, from year ending June 2011 until the year ending June 2023, can be found in the following tool: Outcomes by Offence tool: June 2023. The full calendar year for 2023 will be available in the next update of the Outcomes by Offence tool, expected in May 2024. The data can be accessed by navigating to the ‘Prosecutions and convictions’ tab and using the offence code filer to select the following offences in the Outcomes by Offence data tool:00101 Murder – victim aged 1 year or over00102 Murder – victim under one year old To cover the full period requested, convictions for murder offences from 2005 to 2009 have been provided in Table 1. It is not advised to use this data to calculate conviction rate due to the Court Proceedings Database counting two separate records at two separate stages. We cannot track the defendant throughout their court journey and an individual may appear at each court in separate years, or for a different principal offence at different stages. As a result, this rate is not an accurate measure of the proportion of prosecutions that result in a conviction.Table (xlsx, 19.5KB)

Convictions: Appeals

Helen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many convictions under joint enterprise legislation have been successfully overturned on appeal.

Laura Farris: The Ministry of Justice does not currently collate data on whether a prosecution or conviction relied on the doctrine of joint enterprise or whether an appeal in such a case resulted in the conviction being quashed or the sentence changed.The Crown Prosecution Service has recently updated their case management system to enable better tracking of homicide and attempted homicide cases involving joint enterprise.

Sentencing

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had with the Sentencing Council on the implementation of guidelines that require judges to consider factors such as poverty and social deprivation in sentencing; and whether his Department will provide training on these factors.

Gareth Bacon: On 1 April 2024, the Sentencing Council for England and Wales introduced a new mitigating factor ‘difficult and/or deprived background or personal circumstances’ across all offence specific guidelines, following consultation. As a statutory consultee, the Lord Chancellor made clear in his response his opposition to the inclusion of this new mitigating factor. However, as an independent body, the Government cannot require the Council to review particular guidelines.Regarding the implementation of the guidelines, under the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, the Council is required to monitor the operation and effect of its guidelines once published. The Council decides on its own priorities and work plan for producing and monitoring guidelines.In relation to judicial training, in order to preserve the independence of the judiciary, the Lady Chief Justice has statutory responsibility under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 for the maintenance of appropriate arrangements for the welfare, training and guidance of the judiciary. The Lady Chief Justice exercises this responsibility through the Judicial College.

Juries: Safety

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidelines his Department has issued on ensuring the (a) anonymity and (b) safety of jurors in high-profile cases.

Mike Freer: There is no expectation of anonymity for jurors in trials. It is standard procedure that jurors’ names are called out to allow the defendant, or the defence’s legal representative, the opportunity to object to any person called, if for example they have knowledge of the defendant or of the case, which may be prejudicial to the trial.However, Criminal Procedure Rule 25.6(4) allows for jurors to be announced by an identifying number assigned by the court officer to that person (rather than by their name) where the court is satisfied that that is necessary.We take the safety of jurors and all those who attend the crown court seriously. Jurors are advised to make immediate contact with HMCTS staff if they are approached by anyone they think may be connected to the case they are part of the jury for, or if they feel threatened or concerned. If they are not in the courthouse and think they are in immediate danger, jurors are advised to dial 999.

Department for Education

Special Educational Needs

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure a smooth transition for students with special educational needs and disabilities from (a) key stage 2 to key stage 3 and (b) key stage 4 to key stage 5.

David Johnston: The government is committed to ensuring that all children and young people have access to a world-class education that sets them up for life and supports them to achieve positive outcomes.Mainstream schools and colleges should use their best endeavours to make sure a child or young person with special educational needs gets the special educational provision they need. This might include tailored support to prepare for transitions.In addition, for those with an Education, Health, and Care (EHC) plan, there must be a focus from year 9 onwards on preparing the young person for transitions as part of their plan’s annual review. Planning for the transitions should result in clear outcomes being agreed that are ambitious, stretching, and which are tailored to the needs and interests of the young person.The department is developing good practice guidance to support consistent, timely, high-quality transitions for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and for those in alternative provision (AP). This will ultimately look at transitions between all stages of education from early years and will focus initially on transitions into and out of post-16 settings. This includes transitions into higher education, employment, adult services, and, for young people leaving AP at the end of key stage 4, building on learning from the recent Alternative Provision Transition Fund.The department is working with the Department for Work and Pensions and key partners from the SEND and post-16 sectors, including the Association of Colleges and Natspec, to develop the guidance. The department is working with young people with different types of need, including those with and without EHC plans, to co-produce the guidance to ensure it improves experiences and outcomes. The department will also involve parents and carers.

Schools: Buildings

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of school building conditions.

Damian Hinds: The government has compiled one of the largest and most comprehensive surveys of school building condition in Europe. The Condition Data Collection (CDC) programme is the first of its kind to help us understand the condition of the school estate, and target funding to where it is most needed. This programme ran from 2017 to 2019 and visited over 22,000 schools. The key findings from the first CDC programme is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/989912/Condition_of_School_Buildings_Survey_CDC1_-_key_findings_report.pdf. A follow up programme, known as Condition Data Collection 2, is underway and has already visited over half of the government funded school and college estate in England. The programme is due to be completed by 2026. It is the responsibility of those who run schools – such as academy trusts and local authorities – who work with their schools day to day to manage maintenance and to alert the department if there is a serious concern with a building that cannot be managed independently. The department supports them by providing capital funding, delivering major rebuilding programmes and offering guidance and support. The department has allocated over £17 billion since 2015 for improving the condition of schools, including £1.8 billion announced for 2024/25. In addition, the School Rebuilding Programme is transforming buildings at over 500 schools across England.

Apprentices

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the apprenticeship system in increasing the number of high quality apprenticeship starts.

Luke Hall: High-quality apprenticeships reach nearly 700 occupations and deliver for individuals and businesses, with apprenticeship starts up 2% so far this year.Over 80% of employers are satisfied with their apprenticeships and 92% of apprentices that achieve go into sustained employment.The department is injecting an additional £60 million this year to support even more apprenticeships, including for young people and small and medium-sized enterprises, and £50 million over two years to boost starts in growth sectors like engineering and manufacturing.The department has also increased the apprentice minimum wage by 21% to £6.40 per hour which will benefit an estimated 40,000 apprentices.

Allergies: Schools

Alicia Kearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of allergy guidance in schools.

Damian Hinds: It is vital children with allergies are safe in schools.Statutory guidance makes clear schools should ensure they are aware of pupils with medical conditions, including allergies, and have policies in place to ensure these are well-managed.The department recently reminded schools of legal duties and highlighted the Schools Allergy Code, which is available online at: http://www.schoolsallergycode.com/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery.

Free Schools

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, on what date it became her Department's policy that free schools should only be (a) university technical colleges and (b) studio schools; for what reason this is her Department's policy; and for what reason local authorities have to be named in a bid to open an academy.

Damian Hinds: There has been no change to the department’s policy regarding the types of school that can open as part of the free schools programme.In the most recent application waves, the department approved 15 mainstream free schools, two of which were new universal technical colleges (UTC), 41 special free schools and 20 alternative provision (AP) schools. My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, also announced a further wave of 15 special free schools as part of the Spring Budget. Since the programme started in 2010, the department has opened 701 free schools, made up of 542 mainstream schools, 51 AP schools, 108 special schools (125 of which are local authority presumption free schools and seven of which are specialist maths schools), 44 UTCs and 20 Studio schools. These schools will provide over 405,000 places at capacity, thereby helping to ensure that children and young people have access to a good quality school place in a range of different settings across the country. Overall, since 2010 the department has supported the creation of nearly 1.2 million new school places via various routes including opening new free schools. Local authorities are often named in an application for a free school as part of the process to identify a site for the proposed school. It can also help the department to understand the local context of the application and whether there is a need for that type of school in the area.

Teachers: Warwick and Leamington

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of trends in the number of teachers in Warwick and Leamington constituency.

Damian Hinds: Information on the school workforce, including the number of teachers in each school, is published in the ‘School workforce in England’ statistical publication, which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.As of November 2022, which is the latest data available, there were over 468,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers in state-funded schools in England, an increase of 27,000 (6%) since 2010. This is the highest number of FTE teachers since the school workforce census began in 2010.As of November 2019, there were 609.9 FTE teachers in state-funded schools in Warwick and Leamington constituency. This increased to 651.2 FTE teachers in state-funded schools in Warwick and Leamington constituency in November 2022. Figures for November 2023 will be published in June 2024. School workforce figures for 2024 have not yet been collected.

Teachers: Training

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of people who started teacher training courses did not finish the course in each of the last five years.

Damian Hinds: Trainees not awarded qualified teacher status (QTS) includes those who ended their training during the year and either left the course before the end (excluding those who left the course within 90 days of the start) or did not meet the teacher standards. These statistics refer to the academic year in which trainees finished or withdrew from their initial teacher training (ITT) courses, rather than the year in which they began their courses. At this time, statistics on ITT trainee outcomes based on the year of entry are not available.Academic Year2017/182018/192019/202020/212021/22Trainees not awarded QTS1,3041,3481,1721,5972,236Percentage of all trainees with course outcomes5%5%4%5%7%Source: DfE ITT Performance Profiles statistical publicationsFootnote: Academic year refers to the year in which the trainee had a course outcome. The ITT Performance Profiles publication is published here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/initial-teacher-training-performance-profiles/2021-22#releaseHeadlines-tables.

Children: Social Services

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's consultation outcome entitled Children's social care: stable homes, built on love, published on 21 September 2023, what steps she is taking to monitor the implementation of the recommendations of that consultation by local authorities.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's consultation outcome entitled Children's social care: stable homes, built on love, published on 21 September 2023, if she will expand the implementation of that consultation outcome to more local authority areas.

David Johnston: The department is committed to laying the foundations for a comprehensive and long-term reform plan to children’s social care over the two years immediately following the publication of its implementation strategy ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’. The department will be refreshing its strategy at the end of this point. The department is halfway through this first phase of reform, and has made significant progress on many of the commitments made in the strategy. In December 2023, the department published the first national kinship care strategy ‘Championing Kinship Care’, a ‘Children’s Social Care National Framework’, a revised statutory guidance ‘Working together to safeguard children’ and a data strategy. Through these publications, the department is monitoring the implementation of its reform programme and has set out how local authorities’ and partners’ roles and responsibilities will change through new national expectations, and further explained their role in delivering ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’. The ‘test and learn’ approach the department is taking through its pathfinder pilots will ensure that the department will find the most efficient models of delivery, providing the best possible outcomes for children and families. When the department comes to expand and roll out programmes across more local authorities’ areas, it wants to ensure reform delivery is supported by the evidence that it works.

Schools: Equality and Religious Freedom

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department issues to schools on balancing inclusivity and religious freedoms.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department issues to non-religious schools on enforcing policies that restrict (a) prayer and (b) other religious practices.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to (a) monitor and (b) tackle potential discrimination in schools against students based on their religious practices.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to make an assessment of the adequacy of school policies on (a) religious practices and (b) inclusivity.

Damian Hinds: There is currently no legal requirement for schools to allow their pupils time within the school day to pray upon request, nor are they required to provide any pupil with a physical space, such as a prayer room, to conduct their prayers. It is a matter for individual schools and headteachers to make a decision that is in the interest of their pupils. It is important when considering any requests relating to prayer that they do so in the context of the Equality Act 2010, and their public sector equality duty. Under the Equality Act 2010 schools must not discriminate against a pupil in a number of respects because of a characteristic protected by the Act, including religion or belief. State-funded schools are also subject to the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED). All children and young people must be treated fairly and supported to thrive and reach their potential within a respectful environment. The department has published guidance for schools on how to comply with their duties under the Equality Act 2010, which can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/equality-act-2010-advice-for-schools. This includes specific advice on religion or belief. The PSED was introduced in section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 and places a legal obligation on public authorities to consider how their policy or service decisions impacts differently on individuals. The department as a public body is required to give due regard to PSED in its decision making. According to the PSED, a public authority must, in the exercise of its functions, have due regard to the need to:Eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under this Act.Advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.Foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it. Protected characteristics include religion or belief.

Department for Transport

Bus Service Operators Grant

Dr Thérèse Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 19 April 2024 to Question 21014 on Minibuses: Driving Licences, if he will publish a breakdown of the £3 million per year Bus Service Operators Grant by operator in receipt of the grant.

Guy Opperman: The Department for Transport has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Electric Bicycles and Electric Scooters: Registration

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of requiring all (a) e-bikes and (b) e-scooters to be registered to an owner.

Guy Opperman: There is already legislation in place that governs the use of e-scooters on public land. E-scooters meet the definition of a ‘motor vehicle’ under the Road Traffic Act 1988. Therefore, as well as having to be registered, taxed, and insured, they must meet all other legal requirements of a motor vehicle to be used on the road. By their design, e-scooters complying with the wide range of requirements is difficult to achieve. Consequentially, most private e-scooters are illegal to use on the road, cycle lanes or pavements (i.e. otherwise than on private land), and rental e-scooters can only be used in rental e-scooter trial area.The Department considered the potential advantages and disadvantages of a mandatory registration and licensing system for cycle ownership as part of a comprehensive cycling and walking safety review in 2018. This found that the cost and complexity of such a system would outweigh the benefits, and that restricting people’s ability to cycle in this way would mean that many would be likely to choose other modes of transport instead, with negative impacts for congestion, pollution, and health. However all policies are kept under review.If e-cycles exceed the criteria in the Electrically Pedal Assisted Cycles Regulations (1983), then, among other criteria limits power and speed, they are also classed as motor vehicles, requiring tax, insurance, and similar requirements.

Driving Licences: Medical Examinations

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many medical professionals' assessments of fitness to drive have been received by the DVLA in each month of the last five years.

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many medical professionals' assessments of fitness to drive have been received by the DVLA in each year since 2004.

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of the time taken to process medical professionals' assessments of fitness to drive on the issuing of driving licences.

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of the fees for a medical professionals' assessment of fitness to drive on the number of such assessments being issued to DVLA driving license applicants.

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his planned timetable is for publishing the review of medical professionals' fees for driver licensing.

Guy Opperman: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is currently engaging with the Professional Fees Committee of the British Medical Association in respect of the fees paid for medical information required for driver licensing purposes. The DVLA is also reviewing the questionnaires issued to medical professionals when medical information is required to assist in assessing an individual’s fitness to drive; with a view to simplifying the process wherever possible. The DVLA has introduced a simplified licence renewal process for drivers with epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, some mental health conditions, and glaucoma. This renewal process has significantly reduced the need for the DVLA to seek further information from medical professionals and enabled more licensing decisions to be made based on the information provided by the driver. The DVLA is considering adding more medical conditions to this process. In July 2022, the law changed to widen the pool of registered healthcare professionals who can provide information as part of the DVLA’s medical investigations into a person’s fitness to drive. Previously, this could only be provided by a doctor. This provides GP surgeries and hospital teams greater flexibility to decide how they manage the DVLA’s requests for information. These changes will all help to simplify or reduce the number of times the DVLA needs to seek further information from medical professionals. The length of time taken to process a driving licence application where a medical condition needs to be investigated depends on the condition(s) involved and if further medical information, tests, or examinations are required. The DVLA, acting on behalf of the Secretary of State for Transport, is required to ensure that all drivers meet the medical standards for driving before a licence is issued. These investigations can often involve seeking further information about an individual’s medical condition(s) from the relevant healthcare professionals. However, it is important to note that the DVLA does not ask medical professionals to assess an individual’s fitness to drive, and as such, figures about how many such assessments have been received from medical professionals are not available.

Levelling Up Fund: Denton

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what re-appraisal of costs he has made for the successful Levelling-Up Fund bid entitled Destination Denton which was provisionally awarded in November 2023.

Guy Opperman: I am pleased to confirm that, following a validation process of the Destination Denton scheme, the Department is supporting Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council to progress the scheme to delivery.

Roads: Accidents

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an estimate of how many road traffic accidents are caused by (a) potholes and (b) poor road conditions each year.

Guy Opperman: The Department publishes road casualty statistics based on personal injury road collisions reported to the police via the STATS19 reporting system.STATS19 does not identify the cause of collisions, but reporting police officers can identify up to 6 factors which in their opinion may have contributed to the collision. In 2022 (the most recent year for which data is available) there were 477 personal injury road collisions in which the ‘poor or defective road surface’ contributory factor was assigned.

Local Transport Fund

Jane Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the eligibility criteria are for projects to receive funding under the Local Transport Fund; and whether his Department has issued guidance to local authorities on how they should consult hon. Members throughout the process.

Guy Opperman: The Department will very shortly publish advice for local transport authorities on the scope, process and accountability framework for the Local Transport Fund. It is my intention that locally elected representatives, working with their local MPs, decide how to spend this money to invest in the transport priorities that matter most to their area.

Buses: Carbon Emissions

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that most zero-emission buses for use in the UK are built in the UK.

Guy Opperman: UK bus manufacturing is an area of strength for the UK, with 80% of buses operating in urban areas produced in the UK. As part of the application process for the ZEBRA programmes, bidders were asked to highlight any community benefits from their proposals. This included local economic development in the area, the creation and/or retention of jobs and apprenticeships related to the maintenance of zero emission vehicles, including batteries and fuel cells, and supporting infrastructure. The UK Government has no role in the procurement of buses, this is the responsibility of the LTA and the bus operator. During the procurement process for ZEBs, LTAs and bus operators tend to consider criteria such as value for money and route suitability, rather than geographical origins. Their priority is to procure the right vehicle, for the right location, based on quality and value for money.

Railways: Passengers

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what data his Department holds on (a) expected future rail passenger demand and (b) the potential factors affecting future rail passenger demand.

Huw Merriman: In line with our published guidance, the Department has developed a range of rail demand forecasts in both the medium and long term. The Department considers a wide range of evidence for our project appraisals and policy decisions.There are many economic and socio-demographic factors which potentially affect future rail passenger demand. These are detailed within the Department’s Transport Analysis Guidance, published online.

Railways: Digital Technology

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to encourage (a) train operating companies and (b) station car park contractors to (i) conduct and (ii) publish equality impact assessments detailing the steps they plan to take to support people that are digitally excluded.

Huw Merriman: Charging and payment methods for car parking at stations is a commercial decision for train operators and Network Rail. Train operators are responsible for considering the equalities impacts of operational changes on issues such as this, as set out in the 2018 ‘Station Car Parking Good Practice Guide for Train Operators’. The Department expects that train operators should consider each station’s needs and customer base when making decisions on charging at the car parks they manage.

Hammersmith Bridge: Repairs and Maintenance

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the Business Case for the restoration of Hammersmith Bridge submitted by Hammersmith and Fulham Council; and when he plans to take a decision.

Huw Merriman: The Secretary of State is currently reviewing the business case to ensure that it provides value for money for the taxpayer and will make a final decision in due course. The Department’s Ministers are continuing to have regular discussions on this matter with officials.

Aviation: Fuels

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 April 2024 to Question 22401 on Aviation: Fuel, if he will detail the sums allocated to each of the 13 SAF projects.

Anthony Browne: Company/ProjectProject LocationAdvanced Fuels Fund AwardAlfanar Energy Ltd (Lighthouse Green Fuels)TeessideWindow 1: £11,001,000 Window 2: £8,664,000Fulcrum BioEnergy Ltd (NorthPoint)Ellesmere Port, Cheshire£16,764,000Lanzatech UK Ltd (DRAGON)South Wales£24,960,843Velocys plc (Altalto)Immingham, Lincolnshire£27,000,000Velocys plc (e-Alto)TBC£2,523,094Abundia Biomass-to-Liquids (Jet – AB2L)Teesside£4,484,000Arcadia e-Fuels (NABOO)Teesside£12,341,000Carbon Neutral Fuels (ASAP-DAC)TBC£1,376,000Esso Petroleum Company (Solent SAF)Solent£6,065,000Nova Pangaea Technologies (Project Speedbird)Wilton at Teesside£9,063,015OXCCU Tech (OXEFUEL BIOGENIC)Sheffield’s Translational Energy Research Centre£2,814,000Willis Sustainable Fuels (Carbonshift PtL)TeessideAward: £4,721,000Zero Petroleum (PMZ.2)Orkney£3,492,100

Avanti West Coast: Catering

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2024 to Question 14383 on Avanti West Coast: Catering, whether his Department holds information on the amount of cash taken by Avanti for its on-board cateringservices in the last two years.

Huw Merriman: The Department does not hold information on the amount of cash taken on-board Avanti services.

Aviation: Crew

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he is seeking a bilateral recognition of Flight Crew Licensing with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency.

Anthony Browne: The Department continues to engage with the European Union (EU) Commission on areas where future cooperation or recognition could support UK interests. Article 445(1) in the Aviation Safety Chapter of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) outlines the areas in which both the UK and EU may cooperate, including personnel licensing. The EU Commission has to date been clear it has no desire or mandate to expand the Aviation Safety Chapter, including at the most recent EU-UK Specialised Committee on Aviation Safety in November 2023.

Heathrow Airport

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether it remains his Department's policy to support a third runway at Heathrow airport.

Anthony Browne: We support the expansion of UK aviation when it is consistent with our environmental obligations. Any application for an individual airport to expand would, of course, be considered on its merits, once an application has been received.

Cabinet Office

Government Departments: Press

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will take steps to promote independent news networks by ensuring that (a) Government and (b) other public announcements are made by buying space on news websites not owned by newspaper groups (i) in areas where no local printed newspapers are available and (ii) generally.

Alex Burghart: The Government runs a number of communications activities, including campaigns, across a range of media channels. For each activity, channels are selected based on whether they will reach the target audience effectively to have the most impact.Independent news networks can form a key part of this and we consider them wherever necessary.

Public Sector: Cybercrime

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance his Department issues on how (a) schools, (b) NHS trusts and (c) other public bodies should respond to ransomware attacks.

Alex Burghart: The world leading National Cyber Security Centre provides comprehensive guidance to all UK public bodies on how to respond to ransomware attacks, which can be found. The guidance is clear that central Government funds will not be used by Government departments or Arms Length Bodies (ALBs) to pay ransomware demands and this stance was publicly reiterated in November 2023 when the UK, along with other members of the Counter Ransomware Initiative, signed a joint statement discouraging anyone from paying a ransomware demand.NHS England and the Department for Education provide bespoke guidance for their respective sectors which is consistent with the wider government’s approach. The Department is committed to harnessing expertise on this subject, including recently hosting a roundtable discussion on academic security with the support of the NCSC, to ensure that guidance continues to be appropriate for the developing threat.

Public Sector Fraud Authority

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will hold discussions with the Public Sector Fraud Authority on the setting of longer term targets for savings.

John Glen: The Minister for the Cabinet Office and Minister Neville Rolfe, who leads on the counter fraud portfolio, regularly meet with the Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA) CEO and Senior Leadership Team to discuss their progress - target setting forms part of those discussions.It is the government’s stated ambition to continue to increase the impact from counter fraud activity. The PSFA exceeded its target of achieving £180 million of savings in its first 12 months by preventing and recovering £311 million of audited savings.The PSFA CEO works with the PSFA data and analytics delivery teams and Ministers to set the PSFA delivery target on an annual basis. The PSFA’s second year target is to deliver £185m of savings and will report performance against it when the independent audit of savings is complete. The PSFA is working with Ministers to set a financial target for its third year as part of routine business planning.As the centre of the Government Counter Fraud Function (GCFF), the PSFA also requires, and supports departments to set financial impact targets for their counter fraud work and progress against this is published in the annual Fraud landscape Reports.Government policy is that setting targets not only improves the transparency of counter fraud spending, but also ensures that we deliver a serious message to fraudsters that the government is making a concerted effort to tackle their ever-evolving crimes.

Civil Service: Vacancies

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many and what proportion of civil service roles in the Commercial and Procurement Profession are vacant as of 28 March 2024.

Alex Burghart: The Government Commercial Organisation, is the employer of senior commercial professionals (at Grade 7 and above) within the Government Commercial Function. There are currently 101 vacancies within the Government Commercial Organisation against a budgeted headcount of 1649. This vacancy rate of 6.1% is similar to the 2023 Civil Service vacancy rate of 6.2%.

Department for Work and Pensions

Work Capability Assessment: Parkinson's Disease

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Answer by the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work to the Question from the hon. Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun on 13 November 2023, Official Report, column 371, when he plans to contact Parkinson's UK to arrange a meeting to discuss Work Capability Assessments.

Mims Davies: I have recently met with individuals diagnosed with Parkinson’s, and we continue to engage with a range of clinical experts and charities specialising in disability and health conditions as well as representatives from national organisations to understand the experiences of people with Parkinson’s going through the Work Capability Assessment.

Department for Work and Pensions: Departmental Responsibilities

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many hon. Members he has held meetings on constituency cases with since his appointment.

Paul Maynard: Information on meetings on constituency cases is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. Information on ministerial meetings can be found here: DWP ministerial gifts, hospitality, travel and meetings - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Social Security Benefits

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an equalities impact assessment of the policies announced in the Prime Minister’s speech on welfare of 19 April 2024.

Mims Davies: The Department for Work and Pensions is committed to meeting its obligations under the Equality Act 2010, and has considered equality impacts in the policies announced in the Prime Minister’s speech on welfare of 19 April 2024. This will be kept under regular review as each policy develops.

Jobcentres: Staff

Dame Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average number of Work Coaches was per Jobcentre in the latest period for which data is available; and what the average caseload was of a Work Coach in the same period.

Jo Churchill: Average number of Work Coaches per Jobcentre Jobcentres across the DWP estate vary significantly in size and capacity, the average number of Work Coaches per Jobcentre does not reflect this variation and is not a metric used by the Department. At the end of March 24, the number of full time equivalent (FTE) UC, JSA and ESA Work Coaches across Great Britain was 16,480 and the number of Jobcentres was 634, giving an average number of Work Coaches per Jobcentre of approximately 26.  Notes on the figures: Data is correct as at the end of March 24.Figures were derived from the Department’s Activity Based Model (ABM), which provides Full Time Equivalent (FTE) figures based on point in time estimate by Line Managers. They cover only FTE of staff with paid employment.Work Coach figures include both Universal Credit Work Coaches and Existing Benefit Work Coaches. They do not include Work Coach Team Leaders and Disability Employment Advisers.The number of colleagues employed in these directorates is unpublished management information, collected and intended for internal departmental use and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. As the Department holds the information, we have released it.  Average caseload of a Work Coach The table below shows the average number of Universal Credit customers in the Intensive Work Search regime per Universal Credit work coach FTE across Great Britain in March 24.  March 24People on UC (Intensive Work Search only)1,495,380Number of UC work coaches (FTE)15,290Intensive Work Search customers per UC work coach (FTE)100 Data sources: Work coach FTE - DWP’s internal Activity Based Model, People on UC - Stat-Xplore (https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk)   Please note, the Department does not use caseload per Work Coach to estimate the number of Work Coaches required nationally or locally. Not all UC claimants have a Work Coach, but we have provided the number of Intensive Work Search customers per UC Work Coach as most of this group do. The Department has complex models to estimate the resource required in Jobcentres at a national level. These models cover activities across all DWP customer groups and job roles. The Department continually impacts and assesses the service being offered to customers. Staff numbers, including the number of Work Coaches, and demand for Jobcentre services are reviewed on an ongoing basis, in line with the latest economic and benefit forecasts.  Notes on the figures:  All figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 and cover Great Britain People on UC The number of Universal Credit claimants includes those who have started Universal Credit (completed the Universal Credit claim process and accepted their Claimant Commitment) and have not had a closure of their claim recorded for this spell, up to the 'count date' (second Thursday in each month).A closure of their claim would be recorded either at the request of the individual or if their entitlement to Universal Credit ends, for example, if they no longer satisfy the financial conditions to receive Universal Credit as they have capital over £16,000.Labour market regime is based on an individual's circumstances on the count date. More information on the Labour Market Regime can be found using the following link:Labour Market Regimes FTE Data is correct as at the end of March 24.Figures were derived from the Department’s Activity Based Model (ABM), which provides Full Time Equivalent (FTE) figures based on point in time estimate by Line Managers. They cover only FTE of staff with paid employment.Work Coach figures include only Universal Credit Work Coaches. The figures do not include Work Coach Team Leaders and Disability Employment Advisers.The number of colleagues employed in these directorates is unpublished management information, collected and intended for internal departmental use and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. As the Department holds the information, we have released it.UC work coach FTE includes the following ABM categories - (DWP) Reasonable Adjustment (W&H Pilot), (UCJC) 50PLUS Work Coach, (UCJC) IWP Work Coach, (UCJC) Learning Premium, (UCJC) UC 18-24 Work Coach, (UCJC) New Style ESA Work Coach, (UCJC) New Style JSA Work Coach, (UCJC) UC Enhanced Work Coach – SE, (UCJC) UC Start Up Training, (UCJC) UC Work Coach Accreditation, (UCJC) UC Work Coach Group Sessions, (UCJC) UC Work Coach, (UCJC) Work Capability Assessment Referrals, (UCJC) Youth Employability Coach, and (UCJC) Youth Hub Work Coach.

Work and Health Programme

Dame Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Work and Health Programme statistics: background information and methodology, updated on 29 February 2024, what estimate he has made of the six metrics figures by (a) nation and (b) region.

Mims Davies: As explained in the Work and Health Programme statistics: background information and methodology, the latest release of these statistics can be found in the Work and Health Programme statistics collection which is published on .GOV.UK. The latest statistics, to November 2023, provide the measures for the first five metrics: referrals, individuals referred, starts, first earnings from employment, and job outcomes, for England and Wales and regional level on Stat-Xplore. Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required. The sixth metric, on performance expectations, is published separately in table 4.1, by provider.

Universal Credit: Fraud

Dame Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many fraudulent advance Universal Credit claims have been identified by his Department's machine learning algorithm.

Dame Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of the advance Universal Credit claims flagged by his Department’s machine learning algorithm as potentially fraudulent were (a) from protected groups and (b) vulnerable claimants.

Dame Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many of the advance Universal Credit claims flagged by his Department’s machine learning algorithm as potentially fraudulent were from (a) protected groups and (b) vulnerable claimants.

Dame Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of the advance Universal Credit claims flagged by his Department’s machine learning algorithm as potentially fraudulent were found to be fraudulent.

Dame Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of the advance Universal Credit claims flagged by his Department’s machine learning algorithm as potentially fraudulent in which claimants were (a) from protected groups and (b) vulnerable claimants were found to be fraudulent.

Paul Maynard: Publishing these figures would compromise our ability to prevent or detect fraud.

Universal Support

Dame Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when his Department estimates the Universal Support programme rollout will be completed (a) nationally and (b) by region.

Mims Davies: The pioneer phase of Universal Support is already live with Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care being delivered across 42 local authority areas in England, and since April, two areas in Wales, providing support for around up to 25,000 disabled people and people with health conditions and new support through the Work and Health Programme Pioneer for an additional 25,000 people across England and Wales. Universal Support will be delivered through around 50 Local Authority led delivery areas, covering all of England and Wales. We expect areas will go live with Universal Support in a phased way from Autumn 2024. We will work collaboratively with delivery areas to agree their delivery plan and implementation timetable.

Social Security Benefits: Domestic Abuse

Andrew Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of claimants applying for the Domestic Violence Easement extend the initial unevidenced four week easement to (a) 13 and (b) 26 weeks.

Jo Churchill: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Dame Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the total annual cost of his Department’s use of machine learning algorithms to identify fraudulent benefit claims is.

Dame Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost per claim is for successfully identified fraudulent Universal Claims using his Department’s machine learning algorithm.

Paul Maynard: The Department does not record this information.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he Department has made of the potential impact of financial (a) hardship and (b) abuse on trends in the levels of women prosecuted for benefit fraud in the last 12 months.

Paul Maynard: DWP has not assessed or analysed the impact on any groups over the last 12 month. We have robust processes around managing our prosecutions and apply our policies consistently across all groups.

Fraud and Maladministration

Dame Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraph 4.2 of the report by the National Audit Office entitled Department for Work and Pensions Accounts 2022-23, published on 6 July 2023, whether it remains his Department's plan to bring forward a Fraud and Error Bill.

Paul Maynard: As mentioned by the Prime Minister on 19th April, we are also preparing a new fraud bill for the next Parliament, which will align DWP with HMRC so that we treat benefit fraud like tax fraud with new powers to make seizures and arrests and will also enable penalties to be applied to a wider set of fraudsters through a new civil penalty.

State Retirement Pensions: National Insurance Contributions

Tom Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the rules on the level of National Insurance contributions that are required to receive the full State Pension on people who contracted out.

Paul Maynard: In January 2016, the Department published an impact assessment titled “Impact of New State Pension (nSP) on an Individual’s Pension Entitlement – Longer Term Effects of nSP”. This included an assessment of the impact that contracting out could have on an individual’s ability to achieve the full rate of the new State Pension.

Social Security Benefits: Data Protection

Dame Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to page 10 of the NAO's Report on Accounts 2022-2023, when his Department plans to report to Parliament on the impact of data analytics on protected groups and vulnerable claimants.

Paul Maynard: The Department will include its first assessment in its Report and Accounts 2023-24.

Social Security Benefits: Underpayments

Dame Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) large and (b) unusual underpayments have been referred for analysis since June 2023.

Paul Maynard: DWP measures its underpayments via annual national statistics published each May. However, we do not produce an estimate for the value of a benefit underpayment. DWP conducts internal quality assurance checks focusing on financial accuracy and service quality.

Department for Work and Pensions: Fraud and Maladministration

Dame Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of staff working on fraud and error in his Department work on (a) preventing fraud and error upfront and (b) detecting fraud and error after it has happened.

Paul Maynard: Tackling loss is a key priority for DWP and every member of staff undertakes mandatory annual fraud and error training. Outside of this, we secured an additional £900 million in recent Spending Rounds which enabled us to enhance both our fraud and error prevention and detection capabilities. This includes our Targeted Case Review team which will review millions of Universal Credit claims for incorrectness. As of the 31st March, our Targeted Case Review team currently has 3,100 Full Time equivalent agents reviewing Universal Credit claims. As of the 31st March, our Counter Fraud, Compliance and Debt Directorate (which includes National Insurance allocation and Debt Management functions) has 8,700 Full Time Equivalent employees, of which 1,400 are working directly on the prevention of fraud and error, with 1,700 working on detection of fraud and error after it has happened. To note - all figures have been rounded.

Social Security Benefits: Housing

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an assessment of the impact of changes in the level of social security benefits on people living in unsuitable housing.

Mims Davies: The Department for Work and Pensions spends around £30bn a year on housing support for renters in both the private and social rented sectors. Benefit rates and the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) are reviewed annually.From April this year the Government is investing £1.2 billion increasing LHA rates to the 30th percentile of local market rents. This significant investment ensures 1.6 million private renters in receipt of Housing Benefit or Universal Credit gain on average, nearly £800 in additional help towards their rental costs in 2024/25.LHA provides a reasonable level of housing support towards rental costs in the private rented sector. LHA rates are not intended to cover all rents in all areas.The Department works closely with other government departments, stakeholders, jobcentres, and local authorities to understand the impact of its policies.For those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs and need further support Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities. Since 2011 the Government has provided nearly £1.7 billion in DHP funding to local authorities.

Work and Health Programme

Dame Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to page 88 of his Department's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-2023, published on 6 July 2023, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Work and Health Programme following the programme evaluation using Randomised Control Trial design.

Dame Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment his Department has made of the impact of the Work and Health Programme on supporting disabled people into the workforce.

Mims Davies: The department published the Work and Health Programme evaluation: synthesis report in October 2023 - the report presents findings from the evaluation of the Work and Health Programme. The department has not yet provided an assessment of the programme’s impact.

Universal Credit: Armed Forces

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) serving personnel and (b) veterans are claiming Universal Credit by local authority for the latest reporting period.

Mims Davies: The requested information is not held. Data is not held on the total number of UC claimants who are currently serving in the Armed Forces or who have served in the past, but data is held on those who have identified themselves so far.

Work and Health Programme

Dame Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people the Work and Health Programme has supported into work (a) in total and (b) by region.

Mims Davies: The number of participants on the Work and Health Programme who achieve job outcomes, and when they are achieved, are published in the job outcomes statistics on Stat-Xplore and are available for England and Wales and regional level to November 2023. Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required.

Jobseeker's Allowance: Midlothian

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people under the age of 25 have claimed jobseeker's allowance for more than (a) one and (b) two years in each year since 2019 in Midlothian constituency.

Jo Churchill: Statistics for the number of people on jobseeker's allowance by age, duration of claim and parliamentary constituency, are published every three months on Stat-Xplore, and are currently available to August 2023. Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest user and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required.

Universal Credit: Midlothian

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people claiming universal credit in Midlothian constituency have contacted the universal credit helpline (a) by landline, (b) by mobile phone and (c) at a local jobcentre.

Jo Churchill: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Universal Credit: Midlothian

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households received Universal Credit in Midlothian constituency in each of the last five years.

Jo Churchill: Statistics for the number of households on Universal Credit by parliamentary constituency, are published every three months on Stat-Xplore, and are currently available to November 2023. Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest user and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required.

Universal Credit: Farmers

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the accessibility of Universal Credit support for people working in the farming sector.

Jo Churchill: Universal Credit is a 24 hour, seven days a week, digital service that allows customers to manage their own data and account online at a time which is convenient for them. Where a meeting is required, Work Coaches are able to offer multiple appointment channels, including digital, to minimise disruption to business, and ensure any meetings are as convenient as possible.  We are working with the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) to ensure a smooth transition from Tax Credits to Universal Credit, as well as providing Transitional Protection when applicable.

Ministry of Defence

Israel: Military Exercises

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the Royal Air Force last conducted exercises with Israel's air force.

Leo Docherty: The Royal Air Force last conducted an exercise with Israel in October 2021, in Exercise Blue Flag. This was a multi-national flying exercise designed to test aircrew skills to their limits.

Ukraine: Military Aid

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish the (a) lethal and (b) non lethal military aid donated to Ukraine since February 2022.

Leo Docherty: The UK's support to Ukraine has been and will remain steadfast and we have just announced our largest ever military aid package, which will be delivered over the next few months.Since February 2022, we have delivered the following key capabilities. For operational security reasons we are unable to publish the full extent of the information requested. The announcement made by the Prime Minister on Tuesday 23 April is additional to the list below.· 1,800 air defence missiles· Over 4,000 drones including:· Long range attack drones· Strategic Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS)· Storm Shadow cruise missiles· Squadron of 14 Challenger 2 Tanks with thousands of rounds of ammunition, plus armoured recovery and repair vehicles.· 50 AS90 self-propelled 155mm guns hundreds of armoured and protected vehicles.· 400,000 rounds of artillery ammunition· 6 Stormer vehicles fitted with Starstreak launchers· Thousands of surface-to-air missiles including HMV Starstreak, LMM Martlet, ASRAAM, AMRAAM and others.· More than 10,000 anti-tank weapons (including over 5,000 Next Generation Light Anti-Tank [NLAW] missiles, Javelin, Brimstone and others)· Nearly 6 million rounds of small arms ammunition, 2,600 anti-structure munitions and 4.5 tonnes of plastic explosive· More than a hundred anti-aircraft guns, self-propelled artillery.· Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS)· 6 stormer air defence vehicles, using HVM Starstreak missiles.· Counter-battery radar systems· Communications equipment· Electronic warfare equipment· Medical equipment· 3 Sea King helicopters· 140 logisitics vehicles· 1,000 VALLON metal detectors and 100 bomb de-arming kits· 300 Armoured and protected mobility vehicles· Cold weather equipment· Body armour and helmets· Electricity Generators

Middle East: Military Aid

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what criteria he uses to determine whether to hold a vote in Parliament on (a) military action and (b) the deployment of defence operations in the Middle East.

Leo Docherty: Publicising operational activity to Parliament in advance could undermine operational effectiveness and potentially risk the lives of Armed Forces personnel involved. The deployment of the Armed Forces is a prerogative power, and the Government is under no legal obligation to seek Parliamentary approval. However, the Prime Minister and Government Ministers consistently update Parliament through written and oral statements, also through Oral and Topical questions.

Partnership and Cooperation Agreements: Ukraine

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish the agreement between the UK and Ukraine on cooperation on defence and industrial issues on 10 April 2024.

Leo Docherty: The UK Government do not intend to publish the Defence Material Cooperation Framework Arrangement, signed by the UK and Ukraine 10 April 2024, as the publication of this document could prejudice commercial interests, operational security and international relations.

Israel: Military Alliances

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what military agreements exist between the UK and Israel.

Leo Docherty: An agreement for UK-Israel military cooperation was signed in December 2020. It is not possible to release the agreement as it is held at a higher classification.

NATO Countries: Defence

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will hold discussions with NATO allies on the potential merits of all member countries increasing defence spending to a minimum of 2.5% of their gross domestic product.

Leo Docherty: The mounting threats we face mean we must invest in defence if we are to continue to defend our values, freedoms and prosperity. To rise to the challenge in this more divided world, the Prime Minister’s announcement [last week], to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by the end of the decade, marks the single greatest strengthening of our defence since the Cold War. This sets a new standard for other major European NATO economies to follow. If all NATO countries committed to at least 2.5% of their GDP to defence, our collective budget would increase by more than £140 billion. Now is the time for all democratic nations across the world to ensure their defence spending is growing, and we will continue to make the case with our NATO Allies.

Israel: Armed Forces

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2024 to Question 12736 on Israel: Armed Forces, what the ranks are of the Israeli military personnel in the UK; whether they are from the Israeli (a) army, (b) navy and (c) air force; and to which UK military bases they are posted.

Leo Docherty: This information is being withheld in order to protect personal information and to avoid prejudicing relations between the United Kingdom and another State.

Israel: Armed Forces

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many armed forces personnel are stationed in Israel; and what their (a) locations and (b) responsibilities are.

Leo Docherty: The UK has a number of Armed Forces personnel across the Middle East, working closely with partners to carry out defence engagement and to uphold regional stability. I cannot go into specifics for operational security purposes.

Israel: Military Aid

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the UK has a (a) treaty and (b) other agreement with Israel to defend it from external attacks.

Leo Docherty: The UK does not have a treaty or other agreement with Israel to defend it from external attacks.

Gaza: Humanitarian Aid

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent steps the armed forces have taken to deliver humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Leo Docherty: As part of a package of military and civilian support to set up a maritime aid corridor to Gaza, a Royal Navy ship has been deployed to join the life-saving mission in the Eastern Mediterranean. UK Armed Forces personnel have been deployed as planning teams with Allies and partners to support the wider delivery of humanitarian aid. In March the RAF airdropped 28 tonnes of aid over Gaza, with a further 47 tonnes between 1-22 April, as part of the Jordanian led mission. With the exception of airdrops, the Ministry of Defence has not delivered humanitarian aid directly into Gaza.

Afghanistan: Refugees

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 17 April 2024 to Question 21043 on Afghanistan: Refugees, in how many and what proportion of reassessed ARAP applications has the applicant been assessed as being eligible for relocation.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The reassessment of applications from those with credible links to former Afghan specialist units began on March 26 and I can confirm that overturned decisions have already been communicated to applicants. As I stated in my answer to Question 21043, my immediate priority is to process all cases as diligently and swiftly as is possible. I will update the House once the review is completed.

Afghanistan: Refugees

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent estimate he has made of when the review of applications to the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy that were made by people who supported UK Special Forces in Afghanistan will be completed.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The reassessment began on 26 March 2024 and will take approximately twelve weeks to complete. Some complex cases might extend beyond the 12 weeks. I will update the House once the review is completed, but my immediate priority is processing the cases as swiftly and diligently as possible and ensuring that the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy scheme criteria is consistently applied to all applications being reassessed.

Armed Forces: Housing

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many service personnel live in single living accommodation in each UK region.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The attached table shows the number of service personnel living in single living accommodation in each UK region. SLA is a significant component of the domestic accommodation for Service personnel, ranging from multi-occupancy rooms with shared ablutions, through to high specification ensuite rooms with storage, social areas and kitchens depending on the accommodation purpose and requirement. SLA is broken into three principal categories: Permanent. Accommodation on units/bases to which personnel are allocated for an assigned tour of duty. For some people, this is where they live during the week and they may commute back to their family home at weekends; for others, this room can be their only home in which they have all their possessions and where they live full time over weekends and leave periods. Temporary (transit). Accommodation for visitors, or those on training courses. This can be for one night or for some months where residential courses are delivered for example. Furthermore, a person on a four-month course can be occupying two bedspaces: their home unit room where they have all their possessions and their room on the course. In some cases, a serving person can live in an SFA with their family, occupy a room at their unit during the week and also occupy a transit room for a period. The definition of transit accommodation may also change; if a unit decides to change a block of transit accommodation into permanent accommodation or vice versa then they may do this in response to accommodation demand. Units may designate certain rooms in a permanent block as transit for varying periods of time this allows flexibility to be responsive to accommodation demands that ebb and flow. They can host foreign nations on exercises, accommodate personnel from other bases as overflow or in support of ceremonial activity. Training estate. Where units and individuals deploy to exercise, there are no accommodation charges levied for this component of the estate, neither is there a grading system.  Service Pers; Live in single living accommodation (xlsx, 25.9KB)

Armed Forces: Housing

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 19 October 2023 to Question 202814 on Armed Forces: Housing, how many service personnel were living in grade four single living accommodation in each region of the UK as of 18 April 2024.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The attached table shows the number of service personnel living in grade four single living accommodation in each UK region as of 18 April 2024. SLA is a significant component of the domestic accommodation for Service personnel, ranging from multi-occupancy rooms with shared ablutions, through to high specification ensuite rooms with storage, social areas and kitchens depending on the accommodation purpose and requirement. SLA is broken into three principal categories: Permanent. Accommodation on units/bases to which personnel are allocated for an assigned tour of duty. For some people, this is where they live during the week and they may commute back to their family home at weekends; for others, this room can be their only home in which they have all their possessions and where they live full time over weekends and leave periods. Temporary (transit). Accommodation for visitors, or those on training courses. This can be for one night or for some months where residential courses are delivered for example. Furthermore, a person on a four-month course can be occupying two bedspaces: their home unit room where they have all their possessions and their room on the course. In some cases, a serving person can live in an SFA with their family, occupy a room at their unit during the week and also occupy a transit room for a period. The definition of transit accommodation may also change; if a unit decides to change a block of transit accommodation into permanent accommodation or vice versa then they may do this in response to accommodation demand. Units may designate certain rooms in a permanent block as transit for varying periods of time this allows flexibility to be responsive to accommodation demands that ebb and flow. They can host foreign nations on exercises, accommodate personnel from other bases as overflow or in support of ceremonial activity. Training estate. Where units and individuals deploy to exercise, there are no accommodation charges levied for this component of the estate, neither is there a grading system.  Service Pers; Grade 4 Single Living Accommodation (xlsx, 25.6KB)

Armed Forces: Housing

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many service personnel live in single living accommodation (a) overseas and (b) in total.

Dr Andrew Murrison: As of 18 April 2024, there are 78,760 service personnel living in single living accommodation. Of those, 1,950 service personnel are living overseas. SLA is a significant component of the domestic accommodation for Service personnel, ranging from multi-occupancy rooms with shared ablutions, through to high specification ensuite rooms with storage, social areas and kitchens depending on the accommodation purpose and requirement. SLA is broken into three principal categories: Permanent. Accommodation on units/bases to which personnel are allocated for an assigned tour of duty. For some people, this is where they live during the week and they may commute back to their family home at weekends; for others, this room can be their only home in which they have all their possessions and where they live full time over weekends and leave periods. Temporary (transit). Accommodation for visitors, or those on training courses. This can be for one night or for some months where residential courses are delivered for example. Furthermore, a person on a four-month course can be occupying two bedspaces: their home unit room where they have all their possessions and their room on the course. In some cases, a serving person can live in an SFA with their family, occupy a room at their unit during the week and also occupy a transit room for a period. The definition of transit accommodation may also change; if a unit decides to change a block of transit accommodation into permanent accommodation or vice versa then they may do this in response to accommodation demand. Units may designate certain rooms in a permanent block as transit for varying periods of time this allows flexibility to be responsive to accommodation demands that ebb and flow. They can host foreign nations on exercises, accommodate personnel from other bases as overflow or in support of ceremonial activity. Training estate. Where units and individuals deploy to exercise, there are no accommodation charges levied for this component of the estate, neither is there a grading system.

Fleet Solid Support Ships: Manufacturing Industries

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many blocks will comprise one vessel in the Fleet Solid Support programme; and how many of those will be fabricated in (a) the UK and (b) Spain.

James Cartlidge: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Defence Procurement (Alex Chalk) to the right hon. Member for Wentworth and Dearne on 20 January 2023 to Question 128600.Fleet Solid Support Ships: Contracts (docx, 15.0KB)

Ministry of Defence: Fraud

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April 2024 to Question 21551 on Ministry of Defence: Fraud, if he will provide a breakdown of the number of cases for each category for each financial year.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April 2024 to Question 21551 Ministry of Defence: Fraud, if he will provide a breakdown of the financial amount lost for each category in each financial year.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The number and detected values of fraud listed below for each financial year represent the categories provided in Question 21551. The total detected fraud values vary slightly from those provided in the letter on 27 February, reference 3427, because the assessed detected value of fraud can change as a case progresses. Since 2010, the information capture requirement has evolved with reporting needs; this is most evident following a review undertaken in 2020.Number of cases / detected fraud value (£k)Fraud Category2010/112011/122012/132013/142014/152015/162016/172017/182018/192019/202020/212021/222022/232023/24Civilian Allowances1/2181/653/394/42/113/39/11311/166Civilian Expenses8/1216/3714/516/129/192123/38100/2545/57242/4939/2020/1028/2312/70Civilian Pay1/22/501/256/112Service Allowances1/24/2872/344/209/1449/6212/23310/7912/14022/30048/98438/746Service Expenses1/1607/2123/1286/1010/2410/3467/2610/58/44/72/04/750/3422/47Service Pay1/24/503/35Cyber and communication1/891/322/1936/441Departmental Income Related1/01/891/6Exploiting Assets and Information2/1507/108/55/1778/5439/47611/67319/57225/743Joint Personnel Administration, Travel & Subsistence and Other Allowances9/82/44/65/55/705/82/25/1013/29Pay Related1/502/1926/16922/15918/12242/2207/978/479/1127/10016/15018/1829/10521/375Payment Processes1/211/11/251/72/2652/1502/1776/3647/674Pension Fraud6/2442/1515/16518/5244/2222/1244/34713/2677/6811/3,94213/49613/1,002Personnel Management Related3/2131/34317/328/1026/8819/2241/1338/47024/5,45426/33346/84694/4,31578/3,638Procurement4/05/283,1057/13/218/2,5859/20,31718/45,91134/55,30625/140,11340/127,96650/212,984Recruiting1/893/2832/1938/772Theft of Assets1/43/10454/13519/9240/52616/1712/33/023/3119/1928/15329/35055/38992/1,380Other  6/1 5/19/2011/1116/10022/4036/2764/2796/2744/2988/676 0.24M0.33M1.35M0.43M284.22M1.53M0.68M2.97M22.52M52.97M57.27M147.24M136.13M223.89MTotal

Multi-role Ocean Surveillance Ships: Procurement

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether it remains his Department's policy to build a second Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance vessel in the UK.

James Cartlidge: The Second Multi-role Ocean Surveillance Vessel is still in the concept phase. A programme and procurement strategy will be established once this has been completed.

Antitank Missiles: Procurement

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has taken delivery of the first newly UK-built NLAW missiles.

James Cartlidge: Following significant Granting in Kind of Next generation Light Anti-Tank Weapon (NLAW) missiles to Ukraine, the Ministry of Defence placed a contract for replenishment in December 2022. The initial delivery of replenishment missiles into UK stock was successfully achieved in July 2023, with the remaining contracted quantities being delivered in multiple batches between now and December 2026.

Strategic Command: Staff

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 22 April 2024 to Question 22255 on Strategic Command: Vacancies, when he plans to complete the review into his Department's civil service workforce requirement.

Dr Andrew Murrison: Work is ongoing following the Chancellor’s announcement in the Autumn statement requiring Departments to cap Civil Service headcount and then reduce to 2019 levels. By 2028, we need a refocused Civil Service workforce which will undertake prioritised projects through agile, skilled, and right sized teams who are delivering ‘what really matters’. We will create an environment where we are empowered, included, and recognised for who we are and what we do. Defence Design is driving system change to unlock a more effective and productive environment which in turn will enable this change in the workforce. Our civil servants play an essential role in delivering Defence outcomes and we hope that by utilising opportunities for process redesign, digitisation, corporate service modernisation and prioritisation that we can achieve better outcomes and accelerate the changes to our ways of working which are required to achieve a smaller, more productive and more agile civilian workforce.

Armed Forces: Mefloquine

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many claims have been made by current or former service personnel in respect of adverse effects caused by being prescribed the drug mefloquine, larium, in each of the last three years for which information is available; and of those, how many have been resolved.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Department has been notified of a total of 686 common law claims relating to the alleged adverse effects of Lariam. A breakdown of claims in each of the last three years is not readily available, however, most the claims were notified prior to April 2021. The Ministry of Defence continues to resolve claims wherever possible.

Armed Forces: Women

Sarah Atherton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many women in the armed forces who have reported sexual violence have subsequently been (a) medically and (b) administratively discharged on medical grounds due to mental ill health in each of the last three years.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The requested information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Ministry of Defence: National Union of Rail Maritime and Transport Workers and Nautilus UK

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department last met (i) the Nautilus and (ii) RMT Unions.

James Cartlidge: I can confirm that there have been no confirmed Ministerial meetings with these organisations.

Armed Forces: Housing

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many service family accommodation properties there are in Scotland.

James Cartlidge: There are 3,140 Service Family Accommodation properties in Scotland.

Type 23 Frigates: Repairs and Maintenance

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of the upkeep of Type 23 Frigates in the 2024-25 financial year.

James Cartlidge: The Type 23 Frigates undergo a planned series of Upkeep periods in order to maintain their condition and introduce capability updates. A total sum of £99.8 million has been allocated for financial year 2024-25, as part of a 10-year allocation.

Fleet Solid Support Ships: Procurement

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent progress has been made on the Fleet Solid Support Ship project.

James Cartlidge: The production of the first Fleet Solid Support (FSS) ship is expected to begin in 2025. Progress continues on design work, mobilisation of the supply chain and recapitalisation of the facilities at Harland & Wolff.

AWACS: Procurement

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent progress has been made on the E7 Wedgetail project.

James Cartlidge: The E-7 Wedgetail Programme submitted its Full Business Case as planned in March 2024 which will target an approval in 2024. The modification of the three E-7 Wedgetail aircraft continues at STS Aviation, Birmingham Airport, targeting an In-Service Date with the RAF in 2025.

Ministry of Defence: Research

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much and what proportion of his Department's budget for research and development has not been allocated.

James Cartlidge: All R&D funding is allocated to Top Level Budgets (TLBs) as part of the annual budget cycle. At the start of this financial year, 25% of R&D spending is currently committed, with the remainder uncommitted to enable flexibility and for budget holders to invest strategically in key programmes. This is consistent with the approach taken over previous three years, where all R&D funding has been committed by the end of each financial year.

Armed Forces: Housing

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 22 April 2024 to Question 22382 on Armed Forces: Housing, what the value is of those compensation claims.

James Cartlidge: The value of the 1,724 compensation claims paid to Service personnel living in Service Family Accommodation in Scotland is £132,593.

Armed Forces: Housing

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) urgent and (b) routine maintenance and repair appointments for service accommodation properties in Scotland have been missed since 1 April 2022.

James Cartlidge: Since 1 April 2022, 1,302 maintenance and repair appointments for Service Family Accommodation properties have been missed in Scotland. This figure includes reactive repairs, planned maintenance and all other appointed tasks such as damp and mould remediation. Typically, circa 1,116 work orders are raised each month across Scotland and on average, 95% of appointments are met.A further breakdown of this figure by priority category (urgent and routine) can only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Fleet Solid Support Ships

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much has been paid to (a) Harland and Wolff and (b) Navantia UK under the Fleet Solid Support programme.

James Cartlidge: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Wentworth and Dearne (John Healey) on 23 April 2024 to Question 22462. Fleet Solid Support Ships (docx, 28.2KB)

AUKUS: Civil Servants

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many civil servants are supporting the AUKUS Advanced Capabilities Industry Forum.

James Cartlidge: A variety of officials at varying grades will from time to time be engaged in supporting the AUKUS Advanced Capabilities Industry Forum.

Defence: Sabotage

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many sabotage incidents have taken place at UK defence industrial sites in each year since 2010.

James Cartlidge: It has been the long-standing policy of the current and previous Governments that we do not comment on security incidents.The Ministry of Defence takes the security of our sites and UK defence industrial sites extremely seriously. We have robust measures in place to assure the integrity of these arrangements. When any type of security incident is raised, it is reviewed by security personnel and subjected to an initial security risk assessment, with further action taken on a proportionate basis.

Future Combat Air System: Procurement

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent progress has been made on the Future Combat Air System programme.

James Cartlidge: When I last provided an update to the House in December 2023, the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) Treaty had been signed in Tokyo with our international partners Japan and Italy. This laid the ground for the legal entity of the GCAP International Government Organisation (GIGO). The Treaty has since been laid before UK Parliament, as part of its formal ratification process.

Armed Forces: Personal Records

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the guidance entitled Get a copy of military records of service, what the average waiting time is for applications to be processed in the latest period for which data is available.

Dr Andrew Murrison: In providing copies of military records of service, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not record waiting times for the processing of applications. Where an individual is seeking information about themselves, known as a Subject Access Request (SAR), the MOD adheres to guidance issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office. This stipulates that a public authority must supply the information within one month, but can take up to 90 days for complex cases. Further information can be found at the following link: https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/time-limits-for-responding-to-data-protection-rights-requests/#:~:text=If%20the%20organisation%20needs%20something,from%20the%20day%20of%20receipt.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

ICT: Edinburgh

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Game-changing exascale computer planned for Edinburgh, published on 9 October 2023, what progress she has made on the hosting of a new national exascale facility in Edinburgh.

Saqib Bhatti: Compute is a priority for this government, underpinning our ambitions for AI, science and technology and R&D. Following the October announcement that Exascale will be hosted in Edinburgh, we are taking forward market engagement to inform the delivery approach for this programme. More details will follow in due course.

WhatsApp: Children

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of Meta's decision to lower the minimum age for access to WhatsApp to 13 on children's levels of exposure to extremist content.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what comparative assessment she has made of the regulatory approach by (a) the UK and (b) other advanced digital economies on enforcing a minimum age for the use of encrypted messaging services.

Saqib Bhatti: The UK’s Online Safety Act will make the UK the safest place to be a child online. The strongest protections in the Online Safety Act are for children. Providers which have age restrictions need to specify in their terms of service what measures they use to prevent underage access and apply these terms consistently The Online Safety Act will require user-to-user and search services to implement robust processes to tackle illegal content and safeguard children on their platforms. Under the Act, where an in-scope provider makes significant changes to their service, they will be required to update their illegal content and children’s risk assessment. Ofcom will have strong investigatory powers to determine the impact of changes that particular providers make. Where Ofcom finds that a functionality is a risk factor for illegal content or harm to children on particular services, then it is empowered to set out steps providers should take to mitigate this. Ofcom have robust enforcement powers available to use against companies who fail to fulfil their duties, including imposing substantial fines.

UK Research and Innovation: Finance

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much funding her Department plans to provide to UK Research and Innovation in the next three financial years.

Andrew Griffith: DSIT is responsible for the majority of the Government’s spending on R&D, including UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) budget of £25.1 billion across the current Spending Review (FY2022/23 – 2024/25). This includes an allocation of over £8.8 billion in financial year 2024/25. As outlined by the Chancellor at Spring Budget 2024, the next Spending Review to set future financial year budgets will be held after the General Election. DSIT has budgets and plans in place until at least April 2025. Government will agree departmental budgets for financial years following this as part of the usual budget setting process.

Department for Business and Trade

International Law: Israel

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department has shared legal advice from the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs on Israel's compliance with international humanitarian law with representatives of her workforce within (a) the Public and Commercial Services Union and (b) other unions.

Alan Mak: FCDO advice informs decisions made by the Department for Business and Trade Secretary of State as the decision-making authority. The content of this advice is confidential. Union membership is a matter for individual staff members and does not alter the manner in which teams work in the Civil Service.

International Law: Israel

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has received reports from the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs on Israel's compliance with International Humanitarian Law since January 29 2024.

Alan Mak: The Government periodically reviews advice on Israel's overall commitment to International Humanitarian Law, and Ministers act in accordance with that advice.On 8 April 2024, following advice from the Foreign Secretary, the Business and Trade Secretary took the decision that our position on export licences would remain unchanged. This was consistent with the advice Ministers received. We are keeping all licences for Israel under careful review.

UK Defence and Security Exports: Export Academy

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the UK Defence and Security Exports Export Faculty’s collaboration with the wider departmental Export Academy.

Alan Mak: The UK Defence and Security Exports Export Faculty was designed to operate in parallel with the departmental Export Academy, but is specifically focussed on the defence, security and cyber security sectors. The Faculty and the Academy are both operating successfully.

UK Defence and Security Exports: Trade Fairs

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many defence firms were supported by UK Defence and Security Exports to attend the Saudi Arabia World Defence Show in February 2024.

Alan Mak: UKDSE directly supported 11 defence companies at World Defense Show 2024, either through participation on the UKDSE stand or through the Soldier on Stand service.

UK Defence and Security Exports: Trade Fairs

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the average number of businesses were that attended a UK Defence and Security Exports supported Defence and Security Exports Day in each year since 2019.

Alan Mak: UKDSE does not have a service offer by this name.

UK Defence and Security Exports: Trade Fairs

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the cost is for companies to purchase a showcase pod for a UK Defence and Security Exports supported event.

Alan Mak: The current cost for participating on a UKDSE stand through the pod offer is £4,250 + VAT.

UK Defence and Security Exports: Small Businesses

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many SME’s have used the UK Defence and Security Exports Export Faculty in each year since 2019.

Alan Mak: UK Defence and Security Exports does not collect data specifically on SME user rates with respect to the Export Faculty

UK Defence and Security Exports: Trade Fairs

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many defence firms did UK Defence and Security Exports support to attend the recent (a) Sea Air Space and (b) Space Symposium conferences in the United States.

Alan Mak: a) Sea Air Space 0 – UKDSE did not support any defence companies to attend this event. b) Space Symposium 0 – UKDSE did not support any defence companies to attend this event.

UK Defence and Security Exports: Trade Fairs

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many defence firms did UK Defence and Security Exports support to attend the recent FIDAE conference in Chile.

Alan Mak: UKDSE did not support any defence companies to attend this event.

UK Defence and Security Exports

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many firms registered to the UK Defence and Security Exports Export Faculty in each year since 2019.

Alan Mak: Since the UKDSE Exports Faculty began, the following number of companies have registered: 2021 – 197 firms 2022 – 681 firms 2023 – 471 firms 2024 to date – 184 firms

UK Defence and Security Exports: Staff

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many staff members at UK Defence and Security Exports work in the regional team that covers (a) Europe, (b) Middle East, (c) Central Asia and (d) South Asia.

Alan Mak: UK Defence and Security Exports have 24 members of staff working in the regional team that covers (a) Europe, (b) Middle East, (c) Central Asia. 3 members of staff work on d) South Asia which is now in a different team

UK Defence and Security Exports: Trade Fairs

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many defence firms UK Defence and Security Exports supported to attend Secours Expo from 31 January to 3 February 2024 in France.

Alan Mak: UKDSE did not support any defence companies to attend this event.

UK Defence and Security Exports: Trade Fairs

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many businesses on average attended a meet the buyer event that was organised by UK Defence and Security Exports in each year since 2019.

Alan Mak: On average the following number of businesses attended a meet the buyer event that was organised by UKDSE each year. 2019 Data not available. 20200 (no Meet the Buyer sessions ran due to COVID). 2021Data not available. 2022 21  202367 2024 (to date)38

UK Defence and Security Exports

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many sessions on (a) export licencing, (b) doing business with prime contractors, (c) working with the media, (d) preparing for events, (e) finance for export, (f) support from other government departments and bodies, (g) developing export strategies, (h) global market focus sessions, (i) business culture and know how across the world and (j) pitching for international contracts have been held by the UK Defence and Security Exports Export Faculty in each year since 2019.

Alan Mak: The Export Faculty was created in September 2021. The number of sessions as requested was:(a) export licencing – 1 session 2022(b) doing business with prime contractors – 1 session 2023(c) working with the media – No session held to date(d) preparing for events – 1 session 2023(e) finance for export – 1 session 2023(f) support from other government departments and bodies – No session held to date(g) developing export strategies – No session held to date(h) global market focus – No session held to date(i) business culture and know how across the world – No session held to date(j) pitching for international contracts sessions – 1 session 2022

Universal Service Obligation

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment her Department has made of the viability of the universal service obligation; and if she will hold discussions with the Leader of the House on making parliamentary time to debate the universal service obligation.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Government’s objective continues to be ensuring the provision of a sustainable, accessible, and affordable universal postal service. It is the responsibility of Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, to ensure the provision of a financially sustainable and efficient universal postal service.Ofcom recently published a discussion document setting out potential options to reform the service, to ensure it remains affordable and sustainable in the future as well as meeting consumers’ needs. The Government will consider any recommendations that Ofcom puts forward, but Ministers are not currently minded to introduce new legislation to change the obligations on postal deliveries.

Harland and Wolff: Export Credit Guarantees

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when she expects his Department to conclude negotiations with Harland and Wolff on a loan under the Export Development Guarantee Scheme.

Greg Hands: HM Government does not comment on ongoing commercial discussions.

Small Business Commissioner: Termination of Employment

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many Small Business Commissioner staff have left that organisation in each year since 2015.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many Trade Remedies Authority staff have left that organisation in each year since its creation.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many staff from its advisory non-departmental public bodies have left those bodies in each year since 2015.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many Low Pay Commission staff have left that organisation in each year since 2015.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many Regulatory Policy Committee staff have left that organisation in each year since 2015.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many Central Arbitration Committee staff have left that organisation in each year since 2015.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many Competition Appeal Tribunal staff have left that organisation in each year since 2015.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many staff left the British Business Bank in each year since 2015.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many staff have left the Certification Officer's office in each year since 2015.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many staff left the Groceries Code Adjudicator in each year since its creation.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many staff have left the Office of the Regulator of Community Interest Companies in each year since 2015.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many staff have left the Pubs Code Adjudicator since its creation.

Kevin Hollinrake: We centrally hold some of the information requested. In as far as data is centrally held, I refer the hon. Member to the Civil Service statistics, for The Department for Business and Trade, at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/civil-service-statistics https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/datasets/civilservicestatistics The Declaration on Government Reform (2021) stated: "There is however more we must do to attract a broader range of people to the privilege of public service... It should be natural for people with careers and skills built in business to serve in government for a period, and for those in public service to spend time in organisations which are not dependent on public money... We will develop new entry routes from industry, academia, the third sector and the wider public sector, with flexibility to suit those who want to build a career in government and those who want a shorter tour of duty.”

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Iran: Human Rights

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what steps his Department is taking to monitor (a) the enforcement of dress codes and (b) other human rights abuses in Iran.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what steps he is taking with his international counterparts to tackle human rights violations in Iran (a) relating to recent protests and (b) generally.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what assessment he has made of the impact of sanctions on Iran's human rights (a) policies and (b) practices.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent discussions he has had with his Iranian counterpart on (a) the treatment of women, (b) freedom of expression and (c) other human rights issues.

David Rutley: We continue to work with international partners to hold Iran accountable for its unacceptable human rights record. At the 55th Human Rights Council session, the UK was on the core group for the Iran human rights resolution, which successfully renewed the mandates of the Special Rapporteur and the Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Iran human rights, enabling continued monitoring of abuses against women and girls and religious and ethnic minorities, as well as freedom of expression. We continue to engage with UK-based and international organisations on human rights, including Iranian diaspora organisations. In October 2023, the former Foreign Secretary and Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon hosted a roundtable with women's rights activists, joining them publicly in calling for an end to impunity and violence. Since October 2022, we have sanctioned 94 individuals or entities for human rights abuses, including senior decision makers responsible for enforcing Iran's mandatory hijab law. We continually assess our human rights sanctions regime, and will make further designations where we have the evidence to do so. We will continue to raise human rights issues with the Iranian Government.

Israel: Palestinians

John McDonnell: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, with reference to the oral contribution of the Prime Minister in response to the the hon. Member for Liverpool Riverside during the Oral Statement of 15 April 2024 on Iran-Israel Update, Official Report, column 54, for what reason the United Kingdom abstained on the vote on admitting a Palestinian state as a full member of the United Nations on 18 April 2024.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: As the Prime Minister made clear, the UK supports a two-state solution that guarantees security and stability for both the Israeli and Palestinian people.We agree that the people of the West Bank and Gaza must be given the political perspective of a credible route to a Palestinian state and a new future. And it needs to be irreversible.We believe that recognition of Palestinian statehood should not come at the start of a new process, but it does not have to be at the very end of the process.We must start with fixing the immediate crisis in Gaza.Gaza is Occupied Palestinian Territory and must be part of a future Palestinian state. However, Hamas is still in control of parts of Gaza and Israeli hostages remain in captivity - this shows that we are still at the start of the process.Ensuring Hamas is no longer in charge of Gaza and removing Hamas' capacity to launch attacks against Israel are essential and unavoidable steps on the road to lasting peace; as is working together to support the new Palestinian government as it takes much-needed steps on reform and resumes governance in Gaza as well as the West Bank.We abstained on the vote at the UN Security Council because we must keep our focus on securing an immediate pause in order to get aid in and hostages out; then making progress towards a sustainable ceasefire without a return to destruction, fighting and loss of life.

Gaza: Humanitarian Aid

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has had discussions at the UN on the potential use of UN peacekeepers to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The deployment of UN peacekeepers would require a UN Security Council Resolution and the consent of all parties to the conflict. We judge neither of these requirements to be obtainable at this time.

Middle East: Conflict Prevention

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent an escalation of conflict in the Middle East.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: We have condemned in the strongest terms Iran's direct attack against Israel on 13 April. It was unprecedented and reckless, and a dangerous escalation. The UK will continue to stand up for Israel's security and the security of all our regional partners. It is essential that we now prevent further escalation.

Iran: Israel

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Israeli attack on Iran on 19 April 2024 on the wider regional (a) military and (b) humanitarian situation.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: At the G7 Foreign Ministers' meeting on 19 April, the Foreign Secretary and G7 partners called for all parties to prevent further escalation.During his visit to the region last week, the Foreign Secretary reiterated to Prime Minister Netanyahu that we will continue to stand up for Israel's security, and the security of all our regional partners. He also made clear that we must maintain our focus on getting more aid into Gaza and getting hostages out.

Gaza: Humanitarian Aid

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what steps he is taking at the UN to increase the supply of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We are calling for an immediate pause to get aid in and hostages out, then progress towards a sustainable, permanent ceasefire, without a return to destruction, fighting and loss of life. The passing of UN Security Council Resolution 2728 on 25 March reflected international consensus behind this position.We continue to use public and private diplomatic channels as well as the UN and other multilateral fora to underline the need to get more aid into Gaza. Ambassador Woodward made this clear in her statement to the UN Security Council on 18 April, when she urgently called for the full implementation of UN resolution 2720 to protect civilians and enable humanitarian assistance.

Gaza: Humanitarian Aid

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what discussions he has had on the provision of UK medical and surgical (a) services and (b) personnel in Gaza.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We are doing all we can to get more aid into Gaza by land, air and sea. A UK Med field hospital, funded by the UK, is up and running in Gaza. This facility is staffed by UK and local medics and is treating over 100 patients a day.The Prime Minister and Government Ministers have underlined the need for Israel to ensure effective deconfliction in Gaza, and to take all possible measures to ensure the safety of medical personnel and facilities.

Central African Republic: Humanitarian Situation

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of (a) food insecurity and (b) other humanitarian needs in the Central African Republic.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Conflict is the main driver of food insecurity and humanitarian need in the Central African Republic (CAR), having displaced over a quarter of the population, left 2.9 million people in need of humanitarian assistance and 2 million people - a third of the population - severely food insecure. Since 2014 the UK has been a major contributor to the humanitarian response plan in CAR, having contributed over £138 million. The UK is currently supporting the World Food Programme, amongst others, in CAR to address levels of food insecurity. In 2024 the UK support will help provide over 266,000 people with humanitarian assistance in CAR.

Cyprus: British Nationals Abroad

Mrs Pauline Latham: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what data his Department holds on the number of UK nationals that entered the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus through Ercan International Airport in Northern Cyprus in each year since 2010.

Mrs Pauline Latham: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has had discussions with his counterparts in (a) the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and (b) Cyprus on the potential merits of introducing direct flights from UK airports to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the last 12 months.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: In accordance with the rest of the international community, with the sole exception of Turkey, the UK does not recognise the self-declared "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" as an independent state. Under the Chicago Convention, only the Republic of Cyprus may designate Cypriot airports for international flights. It has not done so for Ercan airport. As such, it is not possible to fly directly between the UK and the north of Cyprus. Ministers have not discussed this topic with the Cypriot government or Turkish Cypriot administration. The FCDO does not hold data on arrivals to Ercan airport.

Azerbaijan: Christianity

Jim Shannon: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has had recent discussions with his Azerbaijani counterpart on (a) the preservation of Christian religious sites in Nagorno-Karabakh, (b) regulations on religious practice and (c) other protections for Christians from repression and intimidation in that country.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: We are clear that the preservation of religious and cultural sites in the region is an important issue and we take seriously reports of the destruction of churches and other sites of religious significance in both Armenia and Azerbaijan as a result of their long-running conflict. The UK is committed to standing up for Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) globally. British Embassies in Yerevan and Baku have raised the need to protect such sites with the Armenian and Azerbaijani Governments consistently and at the most senior levels.

China: Development Aid

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, how much aid his Department has provided to China in the last five years.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: We stopped direct government-to-government aid to the Chinese Government in 2011. Total FCDO Official Development Assistance (ODA) China spend between 2018-2022 was £103.5 million, including ODA spend such as British Council activity. In a Written Ministerial Statement (WMS) in April 2021, the FCDO committed to cut ODA funded programmes in China by 95 per cent from the 2021-22 financial year, which it has delivered. All new ODA programme funding has been limited to supporting our open societies and human rights objectives in China. The projects we fund using ODA typically aim to support those in China who work to improve human rights. Final data for UK ODA spend in 2023 will be available when the next Statistics on International Development (SID) is published in September 2024. A significant proportion of this funding was spent by the British council.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: ICT

Dame Nia Griffith: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, with reference to page 21 of the progress update entitled Transforming for a Digital Future: Government's 2022 to 25 roadmap for digital and data, published in February 2024, when his Department first assessed each of its red-rated legacy IT systems as red-rated.

David Rutley: The Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO), in the Cabinet Office, has established a programme to support departments managing legacy IT. CDDO has agreed a framework to identify 'red-rated' systems, indicating high levels of risk surrounding certain assets within the IT estate. Departments have committed to have remediation plans in place for these systems by next year (2025). It is not appropriate to release sensitive information held about specific red-rated systems or more detailed plans for remediation within the FCDO's IT estate, as this information could indicate which systems may be at risk, and may highlight potential security vulnerabilities. FCDO are actively managing their legacy estate via their existing change plans through system upgrades and migration to public cloud.

Home Office

Asylum

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he plans to issue his Department's guidance on the circumstances in which exceptions will be made for asylum seekers from countries on the safe list.

Tom Pursglove: Section 80A(5) of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 and section 6(5) of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 set out some examples of what may constitute exceptional circumstances, relevant to the substantive consideration of asylum claims and to removal under the Illegal Migration Act to s.80AA(1) listed states (respectively). These examples are neither exhaustive nor relevant to all cases, and do not purport to be.Exceptional circumstances are not defined or limited in legislation, but will be considered and applied on a case-by-case basis where it is appropriate.When we commence and implement the wider measures as set out in section 59 of the Illegal Migration Act 2023, we will provide updated guidance to assist caseworkers in their consideration of exceptional circumstances, and the wider provisions.

Undocumented Migrants: English Channel

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people arriving in the UK aboard any floating structure have been stopped under Schedule 7 Terrorism Act powers since the enactment of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022.

Tom Tugendhat: The Home Office publishes data covering the use of the powers under Schedule 7 to the Terrorism Act 2000 on a quarterly basis.This data can be found via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/operation-of-police-powers-under-the-terrorism-act-2000.

Undocumented Migrants: English Channel

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people arriving in the UK aboard any floating structure who have been stopped under Schedule 7 Terrorism Act powers since the enactment of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 have had a lawyer present during a stop.

Tom Tugendhat: The Home Office publishes data covering the use of powers under Schedule 7 to the Terrorism Act 2000 on a quarterly basis.This data can be found via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/operation-of-police-powers-under-the-terrorism-act-2000.

Prostitution: Internet

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 24 April 2024 to Question 22532 on Home Office: Vivastreet, on what date discussions with adult service websites to explore a set of voluntary principles to counter exploitation on their sites began; and what her planned timescale is for finalising the voluntary principles.

Laura Farris: Discussions with adult services websites have been focused on measures to reduce harm on these sites, with the exploration of a set of voluntary principles to counter exploitation evolving from these discussions over time. Work to develop and finalise the principles is ongoing, and we expect to publish the principles in due course.

National Security: Press Freedom

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to ensure that the police have due regard to protecting the freedom of journalistic (a) photography and (b) other activity when implementing powers under the National Security Act 2023 relating to activity in the vicinity of prohibited places.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will publish the guidance his Department issues to the police on the implementation of powers under the National Security Act 2023 with regard to protecting journalistic (a) photography and (b) other activity in the vicinity of prohibited places.

Tom Tugendhat: The prohibited places measures were included under the National Security Act to safeguard the United Kingdom’s most sensitive sites from hostile activity. The accompanying police powers enable the police to protect these sites by requiring people to not engage in certain conduct and to move away from these places where they have a reasonable belief that doing so is necessary to protect the safety or interests of the United Kingdom.Recognised journalists conducting activity on or near prohibited sites – for example, a journalist taking photos from outside a prohibited place – where they do not have a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the UK and there is nothing to suggest taking photographs is not permitted, such as signage or other distinguishing marker, would not commit an offence.The police have access to comprehensive guidance on how officers should use the powers in relation to prohibited places under the National Security Act 2023. We do not routinely publish internal guidance, however, further resources and information on the prohibited places regime are available on gov.uk.

UK Border Force: Reasonable Adjustments

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to page 38 of the Independent Review of Border Force by Alexander Downer, published on 20 July 2022, whether he has made an estimate of the number and proportion of Heathrow Border Force Officers unable to remain in their position because their requirements for reasonable adjustments can no longer be accommodated.

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to page 38 of the Independent Review of Border Force by Alexander Downer, published on 20 July 2022, how many and what proportion of officers who are unable to remain in their post because their reasonable adjustments can no longer be accommodated (a) have moved to a lower pay scale, (b) have chosen to take part in the Voluntary Exit Scheme, (c) are over the age of 50 and (d) had been placed on reasonable adjustments in the last five years.

Tom Pursglove: Border Force does not hold the information in an easily accessible format, therefore the information requested cannot be obtained without disproportionate cost. However, Border Force can confirm that no officer who was unable to remain at the Heathrow PCP has moved to a lower pay scale.The Home Office prioritises removing or reducing workplace barriers by implementing workplace adjustments, so that impacted employees and those with long-term health conditions have the same opportunities as those without reasonable adjustments.

Anti-social Behaviour: Recreation Spaces

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle anti-social behaviour in public green spaces.

Chris Philp: Last year the Government launched the Anti-social Behaviour Action Plan (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/anti-social-behaviour-action-plan) ensuring the police, local authorities and other relevant agencies have the tools they need to tackle anti-social behaviour.The plan is backed by £160m of funding. This includes funding an increased police and other uniformed presence to clamp down on anti-social behaviour, targeting hotspots. Initially this was limited to 10 police force areas, including South Yorkshire, but in 2024/25 of £66m will be allocated to every police force to support a hotspot approach across England and Wales.We have also provided funding to establish Immediate Justice pathways aimed at delivering swift, visible punishment for anti-social behaviour. This started in 10 police force areas and is being rolled out across England and Wales in 2024.In addition, since 2020, £150 million has been allocated to the Safer Streets and Safety of Women at Night (SWaN) Funds. This has enabled 413 projects across England and Wales to invest in communities through a range of preventative interventions.

Immigration

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what entitlements and restrictions will be attached to leave granted under section 8AA of the Immigration Act 1971 prior to the commencement of section 2(1) of the Illegal Migration Act 2023.

Tom Pursglove: The length and conditions associated with leave granted under section 8AA of the Immigration Act 1971 prior to commencement of section 2(1) of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 will be set out in full by Ministers in due course.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when his Department plans to publish draft guidance on the family reunion route for Afghan nationals under pathway one of the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme.

Tom Pursglove: We committed to opening the route for separated families under Pathway 1 of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) for referrals in the first half of this year and we remain on track to meet that deadline. Guidance will be published when the route is opened.

Internet: Cryptography

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department plans to take to (a) monitor and (b) enforce the removal of illegal content on platforms with end-to-end encryption.

Chris Philp: The Online Safety Act 2023 places legal obligations on tech companies to prevent and rapidly remove illegal content.The Act’s illegal content safety duties mean that in-scope services will have to prevent users from encountering illegal content, such as child sexual exploitation and abuse. These provisions will come into force in due course.The Online Safety Act is “technology agnostic” and focuses on the outcomes and behaviours it's trying to regulate, rather than targeting specific technologies, platforms and services. The Online Safety Act requires digital services to put in place proportionate systems and processes to make their platforms safe, whatever the design of the platform, informed by their own risk assessment of their service and its functionalities.The UK Government supports strong encryption provided that it can be implemented safely and in a way that does not undermine legitimate law enforcement. But there does not necessarily need to be a choice between protecting children and privacy and it is right to require companies to keep children safe.

Immigration: Universities

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of his immigration policies on universities.

Tom Pursglove: We keep all our immigration policies under constant review to ensure they best serve the UK and reflect the public’s priorities. Impact assessments are produced and considered when developing Government policies.We have been successful in delivering our International Education Strategy goal of hosting 600,000 students per year by 2030, earlier than planned, and expect universities to be able to adapt to policy change.

Biometric Residence Permits: Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney

Gerald Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people in Merthyr Tydfil & Rhymney constituency hold a Biometric Residency Permit.

Tom Pursglove: This information is not publicly available and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Offensive Weapons

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the provisions on knives in the Criminal Justice Bill  will also extend to weapons used for historical re-enactments.

Chris Philp: In the Criminal Justice Bill 2023 we are introducing three measures to tackle knife crime:Increasing the maximum penalty for selling knives to those under 18 or selling prohibited weapons to 2 years imprisonment.Giving the police a new power to seize any bladed article if they are lawfully on premises and suspect that the relevant article would be likely to be used in connection with unlawful violence.Creating a new offence of possessing an article with blade or point or an offensive weapon with intent to use unlawful violence.These measures will apply to all pointed or bladed articles, including those used for historical re-enactment.On 25 January we laid the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) (Amendment, Surrender and Compensation) Order 2024 in Parliament. The Order has now been approved by both Houses of Parliament and this will prohibit the manufacture, supply, sale and possession of zombie-style knives and machetes from 24 September 2024.Zombie-style knives are defined in the Statutory Instrument and to fall under the legislation would need to be a bladed article with a plain cutting edge and a sharp pointed end, with a blade of over 8 inches in length, which also has one or more of, a serrated cutting edge, more than one hole in the blade, spikes or more than two sharp points in the blade.Items which match this criteria will fall under the legislation including those used for historical re-enactment; however, there is a defence in the legislation for in scope items which are blunt.

Members: Correspondence

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he plans to reply to the letter of 12 February 2024 from the Rt hon. Member for Warley.

Chris Philp: The letter was transferred to the Home Office from the Department for Business and Trade on 18 April. We are considering the matters raised and will respond shortly.

Labour Turnover: Females

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the letter to his Department on Tackling the Recruitment & Retention Crisis from Leading Violence Against Women and Girls organisations, published on 20 March 2024.

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of calls from a coalition of Violence Against Women and Girls organisations for an independent taskforce to tackle recruitment and retention in that sector.

Laura Farris: Home Office officials are discussing the concerns and proposals raised in the correspondence you refer to directly with some of the signatories and have also engaged with officials at the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities to ensure a co-ordinated consideration of the concerns raised.

Cybercrime

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he is considering legislative proposals to strengthen the ability to tackle (a) phishing, (b) online payment fraud and (c) other cybercrime.

Tom Tugendhat: Crimes such as phishing and online payment fraud are already criminalised under the Fraud Act [2006] and the Computer Misuse Act 1990 (CMA). To ensure that online platforms are doing all they can to further protect the public the Government passed the Online Safety Act (OSA) in November 2023. Fraud is included as a priority offence under the Act, which means tech companies are now required to tackle fraudulent content on their platform that is ‘user-generated’ or face the possibility of significant fines. The Act’s fraudulent advertising duty will also require certain categories of companies to stop fraudulent advertising appearing on their platforms.The Government published the Online Fraud Charter in November 2023; a voluntary agreement with the largest companies in the tech sector, designed to raise best practice across the sector and deliver a much quicker and more targeted response than regulation. As part of the Charter, signatories have committed to supporting the Government’s Stop! Think Fraud campaign. This was a major campaign – across TV, radio, social media and billboards – that aim’s to improve public awareness by streamlining and amplifying messaging. The campaign, and supporting website, will make it easier for the public to recognise fraud and take steps to protect themselves, their family and friends.Furthermore, the Government is committed to ensuring that the CMA, the UK’s key piece of cybercrime legislation which criminalises unauthorised access to computer systems and data remains up to date and effective to tackle criminality. We are currently reviewing the CMA, and the Home Office will provide an update to Parliament on any proposals that we will take forward in due course.

Immigration

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when his Department plans to publish guidance on the operation of section 8AA of the Immigration Act 1971.

Michael Tomlinson: Guidance on the operation of section 8AA of the Immigration Act 1971 will be published in due course.

Asylum: Rwanda

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many initial reception centres in Rwanda are ready to accommodate individuals deported under the UK-Rwanda treaty; and what the maximum number of people those centres can accommodate is.

Michael Tomlinson: The number of people who can be relocated under the arrangement is uncapped and the Government of Rwanda have identified a range of accommodation sites to support individuals under the MEDP.These include reception accommodation in addition to the existing Hope Hostel, and a range of sites for longer term accommodation purposes.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Elections: Proof of Identity

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, for what reason veteran cards are not acceptable as a form of photo ID for voting in elections.

Simon Hoare: Further to the answer I gave to Question UIN 902484 on 25 April 2024, when the voter identification policy was being developed and the legislation being written, the Veteran Card – as distinct from the Armed Forces ID card - was a new development. It was not widely distributed, and the application process had not been formalised. For these reasons it was not included at that time.

Housing: Safety

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department is taking steps to support owner-occupiers to fix safety issues in their homes.

Lee Rowley: The Government has made multiple statements and policy announcements on this issue. The Building Safety Act 2022 can be found here: Building Safety Act 2022 (legislation.gov.uk).We continue to update the House on our progress including in Written Ministerial Statements in November 2023 and April 2024.

Local Government Finance

Nicola Richards: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will publish the average mayoral precept in each mayoral authority.

Jacob Young: The Government publishes data on the average Band D council tax set by each individual authority - including mayoral combined authorities - in the annual council tax levels publication. Band D is used as the standard for comparing council tax levels between and across local authorities. Individual local authorities also publish further details about their council tax charges.The average Band D council tax set by each local authority for 2024-25 are as follows:AuthorityAverage council tax for the authority (Band D) – general functions of the mayor £Average council tax for the Authority (Band D) – Police and Crime Commissioner functions of the mayor £West Midlands0.00N/AGreater Manchester112.95 (Note 1)256.30Cambridgeshire and Peterborough36.00N/ALiverpool City Region19.00N/ANorth of Tyne0.00 (Note 2)N/ASouth Yorkshire0.00N/ATees Valley0.00N/AWest Yorkshire0.00249.28   Greater London Authority166.27 (Note 3)305.13Note 1: Greater Manchester’s general functions includes the responsibility for Fire and Rescue provision. This is not the case for any other Authority and so the figure is not directly comparable.Note 2: The North of Tyne Combined Authority will be replaced by the newly established North East Mayoral Combined Authority.Note 3: Greater London Authority is not a Combined Authority and therefore the Mayor has different roles and responsibilities which are not directly comparable.

Sleeping Rough

Mrs Helen Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what progress his Department has made on ending rough sleeping; and whether it remains his policy to end rough sleeping this year.

Felicity Buchan: The Government is committed to ending rough sleeping and we have made good progress towards this goal. Despite the challenging context, the long-term rough sleeping trends show the progress that government and local partners have made. Rough sleeping levels are 18% lower in 2023 compared to the peak in 2017 and 9% lower than they were in 2019 before the pandemic.We are providing an unprecedented £2.4 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping, including over £547 million via the Rough Sleeping Initiative (RSI) 2022-25. This includes a total additional investment of over £47 million announced in September 2023 and January 2024 for the RSI, and a further investment of up to £10 million through Rough Sleeping Winter Pressures funding, which is targeted at areas with the highest pressures.

Buildings: Safety

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has made an estimate of the cost of implementing a reinsurance scheme for people affected by building safety issues.

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the level of building insurance costs on people affected by building safety issues.

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an estimate of the cost of implementing a reinsurance scheme for people affected by building safety issues.

Lee Rowley: I refer the Hon Gentleman to the answer to Question UIN 22834 on 26 April 2024.

Housing: Bricks

Kit Malthouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what his Department's policy is on mandating the use of swift bricks in (a) new housing developments and (b) renovation work.

Lee Rowley: I am grateful to my Rt Hon Friend, and others, for meeting me on this matter earlier this year. The Department will set out its position at the earliest opportunity, following the review of the information provided during the meeting.

Rented Housing: Standards

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of non-decent homes in the (a) private rented and (b) social rented sector.

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many homes are classified as non-decent by (a) age and (b) tenure type in (i) Luton South constituency, (ii) Bedfordshire, and (iii) England.

Jacob Young: Everyone deserves to live in a safe and decent home. This is why we are introducing a Decent Homes Standard in the private rented sector for the first time through the Renters (Reform) Bill.We are also reviewing the Decent Homes Standard, which sets out the minimum requirements for all social housing.Data on housing decency is published regularly via the English Housing Survey at local authority level.

Treasury

Interest Rates

Jim Shannon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Bank of England on bank rates.

Bim Afolami: Monetary policy is the responsibility of the independent Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England. This includes decisions on the Bank Rate. The Treasury meet with the Bank of England regularly to discuss their assessment of the economy and financial services. This includes regular meetings between the Chancellor and the Governor of the Bank of England.

Mortgages: Interest Rates

Beth Winter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the impact of interest rate rises on the affordability of mortgages for low-income mortgage holders.

Beth Winter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 28 March 2024 to Question 20114 on Mortgages, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the Financial Conduct Authority's report entitled, Mortgage Charter uptake data, published on 22 March 2024.

Bim Afolami: The path to lower interest rates is through low inflation, and the Government is fully committed to supporting the Bank of England get inflation back down to the 2% target, including by keeping borrowing under control. While the pricing of mortgages is ultimately a commercial decision for lenders in which the Government does not intervene, our plan is working, and the average offered mortgage rates on 2-year and 5-year fixed rates are lower compared to their peak in Summer 2023. The Government’s Mortgage Charter - in addition to the significant safeguards already in place - is providing support to vulnerable households; and mortgage arrears and repossessions remain low.

Pensioners: Tax Allowances

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the personal allowance threshold for pensioners to £15,000.

Nigel Huddleston: As with all aspects of the tax system, the Government keeps the Personal Allowance under review and any decisions on future changes will be taken by the Chancellor in the context of the wider public finances.

Counter-terrorism and Money Laundering

Dame Margaret Hodge: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his planned timetable is to decide on the model for Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing supervisory reform.

Bim Afolami: The Treasury’s consultation on reforming the UK’s Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing supervisory regime closed in September 2023. The Department is continuing to analyse responses with the intention to announce a decision in due course as part of our commitment to reform the current supervision system and reduce economic crime.

Offshore Trusts: Tax Avoidance

Dame Margaret Hodge: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when HM Revenue and Customs plans to calculate and publish a new standalone offshore tax gap.

Nigel Huddleston: An estimate of the annual offshore tax gap for individuals in Self Assessment will be published alongside HMRC’s measuring tax gaps statistics ‘Measuring tax gaps 2024 edition’ scheduled for 20 June 2024.

National Insurance Contributions: Self-employed

Selaine Saxby: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what was the total value of receipts from Class 4 National Insurance contributions in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Nigel Huddleston: The breakdown of National Insurance contributions (NICs) by class for Great Britain and Northern Ireland is provided by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in “National Insurance Fund (NIF) Accounts”, available here (in the Notes to the Account):https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-insurance-fund-accounts The figures for tax year 2023 to 2024 will be published later this year. Note that the breakdown in the NIF accounts does not include the NHS allocation, paid over by HMRC to the NHS, though information on this allocation is included in the NIF Accounts. Information on NICs can also be found in the “HMRC tax receipts and National Insurance contributions for the UK” statistical bulletin, available here:HMRC tax receipts and National Insurance contributions for the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) These include figures for NICs received through Self Assessment (including both Class 2 and Class 4). Receipts for 2023-24 are now available, but are provisional and will be updated later this year.

Money Laundering

Dame Margaret Hodge: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the HMRC registration is for the Trust or company service provider that provides a company registered address for 149 live UK companies at Office 1 16 Beck Road, Leeds, United Kingdom LS8 4EJ.

Nigel Huddleston: HMRC’s register of Trust or Company Service Providers (TCSPs) does not show any TSCPs with that registered office address; and none of the TCSPs supervised by HMRC lists the address as business premises. HMRC supervises only those TCSPs which are not supervised by a professional body supervisor or the Financial Conduct Authority

National Insurance Contributions: Self-employed

Selaine Saxby: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people paid class 4 National Insurance contributions in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Nigel Huddleston: The number of people who paid Class 4 National Insurance Contributions is approximately 2.69 million in 2021 to 2022. The estimate accounts for the whole of the UK and is based on the 2021 to 2022 Survey of Personal Incomes (SPI), which is the latest outturn year available.

VAT: Scotland

Owen Thompson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many value added tax registrations there were in each deprivation decile in each (a) parliamentary constituency and (b) ward in Scotland in each year since 2019.

Nigel Huddleston: The requested information on Value Added Tax (VAT) registrations by deprivation decile is not available. HMRC does not publish any VAT statistics containing geographic breakdowns. This is because VAT registrations can have both single and multiple sites, and therefore such breakdowns would be of limited value.

Income Tax

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an estimate of the number of people paying basic rate income tax in the financial years (a) 2022-23 and (b) 2023-24.

Nigel Huddleston: This data is published in Table 2.1 Number of individual Income Tax payers in the Income Tax statistics and distributions publication.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Animal Experiments

Dame Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to replace the lethal dose 50 test with non-animal testing methods.

Sir Mark Spencer: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for West Derby on 24 April 2024, PQ 22419.

UK Trade with EU: Imports

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of the time taken to implement health and safety checks on EU imports on (a) inventory levels for, (b) costs incurred by and (c) business continuity planning by the retail sector in Slough constituency in each of the last three years.

Sir Mark Spencer: There is no assessment specific to the retail sector in Slough. Overall, the new Border Target Operating model will not reduce choice for domestic consumers and will lead to an approximate increase in consumer food price inflation of less than 0.2 percentage points over a 3-year period. The proposed regime aims to balance the impact on traders with the need to maintain UK biosecurity, which is essential to ensuring a supply of safe food to consumers. We are working closely with traders and the border industry to implement the new regime and minimise impact.

Imports: EU Countries

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the time taken to introduce health and safety checks on imports from the EU on (a) biosecurity and (b) food safety standards.

Sir Mark Spencer: We have worked very hard to get this right. We are aware of the uncertainty this may have caused however remain committed to delivering the Government's priorities which includes a commitment to delivering the world’s most effective and efficient border. We held workshops with industry to develop our ideas on a new Border Target Operating Model, we then tested our conclusions with stakeholders to ensure the model was both ambitious and deliverable. We have engaged closely with stakeholders with a wide range of views, considering the balance of appropriate facilitations with biosecurity and security risks. We have designed a global risk-based import model for Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) goods that will deliver a streamlined approach which protects public, plant and animal health, boosts our economic growth, and minimises friction at the border.

Imports: EU Countries

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether it remains his policy that the new health and safety checks for EU imports will begin on 30 April 2024.

Sir Mark Spencer: Yes, the guidance for businesses, Government IT systems and infrastructure are in place, or are on track, to ensure delivery of the BTOM milestones. Checks are commencing from 30 April and medium and high-risk goods posing the greatest biosecurity risk are being prioritised as implementation builds up to full check rates and high levels of compliance. DEFRA will gradually increase changes in controlled stages to balance biosecurity risk and maintain trade flows whilst minimising disruption risk at the border. Current check rates applied to rest of world consignments will be maintained, or set to agreed BTOM levels, and will not be impacted by this incremental approach.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Termination of Employment

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many staff left his Department in each year since 2015.

Sir Mark Spencer: We centrally hold some of the information requested. In as far as data is centrally held, I refer the hon. Member to the Civil Service statistics, for Defra, at:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/civil-service-statisticshttps://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/datasets/civilservicestatistics The Declaration on Government Reform (2021) stated: "There is however more we must do to attract a broader range of people to the privilege of public service... It should be natural for people with careers and skills built in business to serve in government for a period, and for those in public service to spend time in organisations which are not dependent on public money... We will develop new entry routes from industry, academia, the third sector and the wider public sector, with flexibility to suit those who want to build a career in government and those who want a shorter tour of duty."

Rivers: Owner Occupation

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 2 April 2024 to Question 20109 on Rivers: Repairs and Maintenance, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of reviewing the role of conveyancers in advising on the responsibilities of riparian ownership.

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 3 April 2024 to Question 20109 on Rivers: Repairs and Maintenance, when he expects the independent review of statutory powers and responsibilities associated with Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management assets across all flood risks and coastal erosion to be published.

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 3 April 2024 to Question 20109 on Rivers: Repairs and Maintenance, whether his Department has had discussions with the Welsh Government on the independent review of statutory powers and responsibilities associated with Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management.

Robbie Moore: The Government commissioned Review of Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Assets has just concluded, and we expect to publish its findings by the summer. The role of conveyancers (used when purchasing property) was considered as part of the review. The Law Society has published a practice note for solicitors and professional conveyancers on flood risk, which includes mention of riparian ownership and further information they can use. Whilst the review covered England only, since responsibility for flood risk management is a devolved matter, officials from the Welsh Government and National Resources Wales, and a member from the Wales Flood and Coastal Erosion Committee were members of the Project Board and Project Steering Group.

Food: Waste

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support local authorities in collecting food waste to send to to anaerobic digestion facilities.

Robbie Moore: The Government has brought forward up to £295 million in capital funding to roll out weekly food waste collections across England. This will cover the reasonable new burdens costs of additional bins and vehicles. Initial grants have now been issued to local authorities for their transitional capital funding allocation for the 2023/24 financial year (FY). Transitional resource costs will be paid from FY 2024/25. Ongoing resource costs will be paid to all local authorities from 1 April 2026. We have committed to work with sector specialists the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) to develop guidance and good practice on communications and scope additional areas of support for local authorities and other affected stakeholders. WRAP has recently published standard specifications developed with industry to support local authorities in the procurement of vehicles and containers. Local authority disposal of food waste is also being supported through the construction of new anaerobic digestion (AD) plants facilitated by the Government’s Green Gas Support Scheme, which provides a tariff supporting the price of biomethane injected into the gas grid at AD sites.

Rivers: Insurance

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 3 April 2024 to Question 20109 on Rivers: Repairs and Maintenance, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of climate change on future insurance costs for riparian landowners.

Robbie Moore: The Government has not made an assessment of the potential impacts of climate change on future insurance costs for riparian landowners. It is the responsibility of all riparian landowners to ensure that they have the appropriate insurance, to protect their property and any work they undertake as a riparian landowner.

Forests: Conservation

Mr Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to bring the majority of Plantation on Ancient Woodland Sites into restoration by 2030.

Rebecca Pow: The Keepers of Time policy, updated in 2021, sets out our principles and objectives to protect and improve ancient and native woodland and trees for future generations. Restoring ancient woodlands that are ecologically degraded is a high priority for the Government. This includes restoring plantations on ancient woodland sites by gradually transforming stands from non-native planted species to native species. We provide support and incentives through Countryside Stewardship and the HS2 Woodland Fund to restore plantations on ancient woodland sites (PAWS). We are currently considering how best to support and incentivise PAWS restoration in future environmental land management schemes while making sure they continue to provide owners with income. We support Forestry England to manage ancient woodland sites across the nation’s forests to improve their ecological value and ultimately restore all plantations on ancient woodland sites to resilient native woodland.

Forests: Non-native Species

Mr Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many hectares of plantations on ancient woodland sites have had licences granted for clearfell and replanting with non-native trees in the last five years.

Rebecca Pow: The Forestry Commission is the regulator for the legal felling of trees in England under the provisions in the Forestry Act. Most felling licences issued require felled trees or areas of woodland to be replaced by replanting or allowed to regenerate. The exception to this is a thinning licence, where sufficient woodland cover is retained so as not to require restocking. When considering a felling licence application the Forestry Commission will judge the proposals against the UK Forestry Standard, the government’s approach to sustainable forestry. This is available on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-uk-forestry-standard. This standard encompasses the impacts on biodiversity and recognises the importance of priority habitats and species. This is why a felling licence also includes advice and guidance on additional issues a landowner needs to take into account. The restocking conditions in a felling licence are put in place to help meet the aims of the management of the site through good silvicultural practice. While the Forestry Commission does advise on a suitable species mix there are no provisions in the Forestry Act to mandate the source of trees and whether they are native or non-native. The guide to Managing England’s woodlands in a climate emergency, advises to manage ancient woodlands in a manner which conserves important biodiversity and heritage features. Greater diversification of species and origin of stands is advised, with a focus on southerly provenances of native species. Due to the unknown nature of acceleration of climate change, management intervention may need to be more frequent in order to preserve these rare habitats effectively. This is available on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/managing-englands-woodlands-in-a-climate-emergency.

Thames Water

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has undertaken consultations with (a) stakeholders and (b) investors in relation to Operation Timber in the last 12 months.

Robbie Moore: Fundamentally water companies are commercial entities, and it would be inappropriate to comment further on the specific situation of any individual company. The Government and Ofwat – the financial regulator for the water sector – are carefully monitoring the situation, and Ofwat continues to engage with Thames Water to support it in improving its financial resilience within the context of its licence and broader statutory obligations.

Thames Water

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the potential cost to the public purse of Operation Timber.

Robbie Moore: Fundamentally the company is responsible for raising capital, be it equity or debt – not the regulator or the Government. There are a variety of avenues to explore, which it is vital the company must do, while continuing to fulfil its statutory obligations of providing water and wastewater services to customers. The Government and Ofwat will always act to protect consumers as a priority and any intervention that would put pressure on the public purse would be considered very seriously and as a last resort.

Environment Agency: Floods

Helen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many additional projects the Environment Agency has completed in response to flooding in the last two years.

Robbie Moore: We are in the fourth year of the current 6-year £5.6 billion Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) investment programme. This investment programme will better protect hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses from flooding and coastal erosion. At the end of March 2024, approximately £2.3 billion of this funding has been invested with over 88,000 properties better protected from flooding and coastal erosion. This was delivered through 300 completed projects.

Water Supply: Planning

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to encourage agencies involved in water management to produce joint plans.

Robbie Moore: In January 2023, the Government published its Environmental Improvement Plan. This included a commitment for more joined up management of the water system. The current water and floods policy and legal framework has been developed incrementally over time, resulting in over 15 national plans and strategic documents. Whilst each plan has its own purpose, we want to make the whole framework more outcome-focussed and fully integrated with other environmental plans and government delivery plans. We reiterated this commitment in our landmark Plan for Water published in April 2023.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Heat Pumps: Manufacturing Industries

Sir Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to help support British heat pump manufacturers.

Amanda Solloway: The Government is supporting heat pump manufacturers through the Heat Pump Investment Accelerator Competition, which will provide up to £30m in grant funding for manufacturers to create new, or expand or repurpose existing, factories to produce heat pumps and key components. The Competition is expected to create capacity for up to 270,000 heat pumps a year and support up to 1,000 jobs. Heat pump manufacturers can also take advantage of other incentives offered by Government for industry as a whole, such as investment zones which can provide direct and indirect support such as a range of tax reliefs.

Carbon Capture and Storage

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether it is still her Department's aim for the UK to be capturing 20–30 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year across the economy by 2030 of which 5 million tonnes would be delivered from Engineered GGRs.

Andrew Bowie: In October 2021, the government announced in the Net Zero Strategy its ambition to capture and store 20-30 MtCO2 per year by 2030, with 10Mt of this capacity to be delivered by Track-2 clusters. The Net Zero Strategy outlines an ambition to deploy 5MtCO2/year of engineered removals by 2030. The UK Government remains committed to meeting these ambitions.

Carbon Capture and Storage

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the timelines in her Department's policy paper entitled, Carbon capture, usage and storage: a vision to establish a competitive market, published on 20 December 2024, on the deliverability of its target of capturing 20 to 30 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year across the economy by 2030.

Andrew Bowie: The Government has set out an ambition to establish four CCUS clusters that will capture 20-30 Mtpa of carbon dioxide per year by 2030. In 2023, the Chancellor announced the availability of up to £20 billion for investment in the early development of CCUS. This unprecedented investment will help meet the government’s climate commitments. The CCUS Vision stated that by the mid 2030s, the amount of CO₂ annually stored may need to increase to at least 50 megatonnes per annum (Mtpa). To achieve this, it is likely that the CCUS sector will need to increase the annual amount of CO₂ stored by at least 6 Mtpa each year from 2031.

Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what her Department's timelines are for carbon capture, usage and storage (a) track-1 expansion and (b) track-2 cluster sequencing; whether those processes will run concurrently; and whether the track-2 timeline is contingent on the progress of track-1 processes.

Andrew Bowie: Government has progressed the CCUS cluster sequencing process, selecting the first 4 clusters to meet the 2030 ambition. Projects submitted applications for HyNet expansion in March. These will be assessed, with shortlisted projects announced from Autumn 2024. Following agreement of Heads of Terms with the Transport and Storage company in December 2023, Government is considering the best timing for launching an East Coast Cluster expansion process, beginning with assessment of store readiness. The Track-2 December update set out Government’s proposed ‘anchor’ and ‘buildout’ approach. Government has continued engagement with Acorn and Viking, and will provide further guidance in due course.

Energy: Meters

Dave Doogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent discussions she has had with Ofgem on compensation from energy companies to consumers for the forced installation of prepayment meters.

Dave Doogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions she has had with Ofgem on the number of people who have yet to receive compensation from energy companies for the forced installation of prepayment meters.

Dave Doogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions she has had with Ofgem on the number of people who have yet to be assessed as eligible for compensation from energy companies for the forced installation of prepayment meters.

Amanda Solloway: Suppliers have so far carried out 150,000 assessments to make sure those impacted get the compensation they deserve. Of these cases, around 2,500 customers were identified as needing compensation - and around 60% of those have received it, with payments planned for another 1,000 customers. We expect suppliers to work day and night to issue these remaining payments - there is no excuse for delay. While this is a matter for Ofgem, I have spoken to Ofgem about their responsibilities and the need for suppliers to speed up payments. I will continue to monitor this very closely.

Energy: Meters

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many and what proportion of householders declined the installation of a smart meter in 2023.

Amanda Solloway: The Department does not hold information on households declining a smart meter installation.

Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of enabling transition between technologies when applying for Renewable Heat Incentive payments when a given technology is not feasible after technical review.

Amanda Solloway: The Non-Domestic and Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive schemes are closed to new applications. Therefore, the Government does not plan to make such an assessment, given that new applications can no longer be made to the schemes.

Energy: Standing Charges

Dave Doogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will have discussions with Ofgem on ensuring that energy consumers who are not in debt are not financially disadvantaged as a result of energy companies minimising exposure to their commercial risk of bad debt through higher standing charges.

Amanda Solloway: The setting of standing charges is a commercial matter for individual suppliers, within the context of Ofgem regulating aspects of standing charges. This includes setting a cap as part of the overall default tariff cap, thus ensuring millions of households pay a fair price for their energy. Ofgem launched a call for input on standing charges, looking into how they are applied to energy bills and what alternatives could be considered, which closed in January 2024. I am supportive of Ofgem’s decision to gather evidence on the current standing charge model and will seek updates in due course. Moreover, my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State and I wrote a joint letter to Ofgem in March highlighting the Government’s expectation that standing charges should be kept as low as possible.

Energy Supply: Complaints

Dave Doogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what options are available to members of the public who wish to complain about responses provided by their local transmission operators.

Amanda Solloway: Members of the public dissatisfied with the service provided by network companies can follow the established complaints procedure overseen by Ofgem. Under the procedure, they should escalate the issue within the network company first, with subsequent referral to the Energy Ombudsman or Ofgem if required. Details on the procedure are available on all network companies' and Ofgem's websites.

Scotland Office

Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Bill: Scotland

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether he has had discussions with the Lord Advocate on the Scottish Government's proposed amendments to the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Bill.

Mr Alister Jack: Discussions with Scottish Ministers on the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Bill have principally been led by the Minister of State in the Department for Business and Trade, Minister Hollinrake. I have not had discussions with the Lord Advocate regarding the Scottish Government’s proposed amendments to the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Bill. Noting Scotland’s historically separate legal jurisdiction and the unique role of the Lord Advocate and Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in respect of prosecutions in Scotland, it is the UK Government’s view that it is appropriate for the Scottish Government to bring forward proposals to address prosecutions on this matter in Scotland, and for those to be scrutinised by the Scottish Parliament. The UK Government remains committed to supporting the Scottish Government in bringing forward its own proposals.